Bloody weekend for crime-plagued Israeli Arab towns

JERUSALEM: Israeli police Saturday were probing four shooting deaths within 24 hours in Arab Israeli towns, following elections in which Arab candidates said violent crime was a top campaign issue. Police said that at around midnight in the Bedouin town of Basmat Tabun, northwest of Nazareth, two residents were shot dead and a third badly wounded in what was believed to be part of a dispute between local families. “Police are investigating the circumstances,” a police statement said without giving details. Maariv newspaper, quoting witnesses, said a young man had burst into a wedding party and opened fire at guests. In another incident, police said a 38-year-old man was shot dead Friday while driving near the small Arab town of Yasif, likewise in northern Israel. Also on Friday, police reported a man in his 30s found shot dead in a car in the village of Musmus, about 30 miles (48 kilometres) away. Police gave no further information and a court order barred publication of details of both the Musmus and Yasif killings. Israel´s Arab parties, running under a Joint List alliance, emerged from Tuesday´s general election as an important force. Provisional official results gave them 13 seats — the third-largest in Israel´s 120 member parliament, ahead of final results to be announced on Wednesday.