OCCUPIED-AL-QUDS: Five Arab Israelis were shot dead at a car wash in the country´s north on Thursday, police said, amid the worst crime wave in years to hit the minority. The shooting brought the number of Arab Israelis killed this year to 96. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel´s internal security agency Shin Bet would now help the police to tackle rampant criminal activity in the community. Police said the shootings took place at Yafia, an Arab village just west of Nazareth, and a statement said forces were searching the area for suspects.
Speaking from the scene of the killings, police spokesman Eli Levy told public broadcaster Kan that “one person or more” opened fire at a group of men at a car wash. A separate police official said the incident was most likely part of a gang war. Maher Khaliliya, head of the Yafia local council, called the shooting a “massacre,” accusing police of responsibility due to lax enforcement. He told AFP he had no information about the background of the shooting, but said his town was “standing with the families of the victims as one”.