Palestinian with Israeli citizenship stabbed to death in Dubai over 'family feud'

Dubai authorities have arrested several Israeli nationals in connection with the murder of a Palestinian man with Israeli citizenship in the United Arab Emirates.

The man was stabbed to death in an alleged family feud. 

“An Israeli man in his mid-thirties has been stabbed in Dubai,” said an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman in an initial press statement on Wednesday, but gave no further details. 

The New Arab's sister site Arab 48 identified the victim as Ghassan Shamsiya, a man of Palestinian origin in his thirties from the northern town of Acre, adding that was stabbed in a car park in Dubai.

"He went to Dubai a few days ago and the news of his death hit us like a bolt of lightning. We're now talking to authorities to retrieve his body," one of Shamsiya's relatives told Arab 48.   

The Israeli website Mako reported that he fled to Dubai to escape a family feud, but was allegedly met by members of the rival family, who then stabbed him to death.

"The general command of the Dubai police hereby announce the arrest of a number of persons with Israeli citizenship, after they assaulted and killed a citizen of the same nationality," the Dubai Media Office said in a statement. 

القيادة العامة لشرطة دبي تعلن إلقاء القبض على عدد من الأشخاص من الجنسية الإسرائيلية، بعد قيامهم بالاعتداء والتسبب بوفاة مواطن من ذات الجنسية. وسيتم إحالة المتهمين إلى النيابة العامة لاتخاذ الإجراءات القانونية اللازمة بحقهم.

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) May 24, 2023

“The accused will be referred to the public prosecution in order to take the necessary legal measures against them,” added the statement. 

Murder is rare in Dubai, the UAE’s key tourist destination that prides itself on a near-spotless safety record. 

The Emirates have welcomed thousands of Israeli tourists since they normalised relations with Israel following the Abraham accords of 2020, brokered by the Trump administration. 

The Palestinian community in Israel has been hit by a wave of crime and murder in recent years, with 80 murder victims this year alone. Palestinians with Israeli citizenship blame Israeli authorities for turning a blind eye to gun crime in their community.

Agencies contributed to this report.