Rahat: A Palestinian citizen of Israel was killed in a shooting in the city of Rahat in Al-Naqab. The man, in his 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene, adding to the alarming number of such incidents.
According to Palestine news and Information Agency - WAFA, another Palestinian citizen of Israel was critically injured in a separate shooting incident in Sha'ab in the northern 1948 Territory. Since the beginning of 2026, a total of 87 Palestinian citizens of Israel have been killed, including 46 individuals under the age of 30, eight women, three by Israeli police fire, and three minors under the age of 18.
The current surge in violence follows a record year in 2025 when 252 people were killed in 218 separate incidents. This data is monitored by the Abraham Initiatives, a non-governmental organization focused on violence among Palestinian citizens of Israel. In response, Palestinian citizens have organized numerous protests in predominantly Palestinian areas, blaming Israeli police for their complicity and failure to protect these communities.
Over the past decade, the number of deaths among Palestinian citizens of Israel has increased roughly fourfold. Palestinians claim their concerns go beyond organized crime, accusing the Israeli government and law enforcement agencies of neglecting their communities and thus allowing conditions for violence to proliferate.
The rise in killings has persisted since the appointment of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir in 2023, who has a history of convictions related to incitement to racism against Arabs.
