A mayor from northern Israel and his deputy were in moderate condition after being shot, Israeli media reported Sunday evening.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting were not immediately clear. Israel Police said they opened an investigation into a shooting in the northern city of Arraba that saw two men moderately injured, but did not identify the victims or provide additional details.
Tzafon Medical Center (Poriya), near Tiberias, confirmed it had received the two patients, who were said to be in moderate condition and stable.
Groups condemn shooting, call for change
The Abraham Initiatives condemned the attack, saying the violence in Arab society had “crossed a red line” by targeting a public official.
“This is not only an Arab problem, this is what collapse looks like,” the organization said in a statement. “An attempted murder of a mayor is an attack on the most basic institutions of government in the state.”
It called on the government to act urgently, warning that the incident was “not just a matter of governance, but a real threat to Israeli democracy,” and urged police to do everything possible to apprehend the shooters and bring them to justice.
The Forum of Families of Murder Victims in Arab Society, which is a forum organized and supported by Standing Together, stated:
“Crime is continuing at full force. The crime organizations are afraid of nothing, certainly not of the failing Israeli police. As we presented to the President of the State, a fundamental change is required in the state’s approach to the surging crime and its direct impact on Arab society. Abandoning citizens to violence and crime is the real existential threat to all of our lives.”