Two Palestinian citizens of Israel shot dead in one night, toll for this year now 150

Two Palestinian citizens of Israel were shot and killed in the space of a few hours on Friday night, as a spike in murders in the community shows no sign of ending.

Rami Shaker Aslli, who is in forties, was shot in the city of Kafr Qara, Haaretz reported.

Hours later, a man in his twenties was shot dead in the town of Zarzir in an incident police said was likely related to organised crime, according to the Israeli news outlet.

On the same night, a 26-year-old man was left seriously injured after being shot in the Abu Tor neighbourhood in Jerusalem. 

The year 2023 has already seen a record-breaking high in the number of Palestinian citizens of Israel killed.

According to a tally by Haaretz, 150 Palestinian citizens of Israel have been killed this year. In 2022, 111 Palestinian citizens of Israel were killed.

Leaders of the Palestinian community in Israel have blamed the deaths on police letting powerful criminal organisations run riot.

They also say that the rampant violent crime can be blamed at least in part on systemic discrimination against Palestinians, who make up about one-fifth of Israel’s population.

Ministers in Israel’s current far-right government have moved to divert funds meant for economic development and anti-crime initiatives for Palestinians.

Friday’s deaths came a day after Israeli police said that they had arrested 85 people in raids meant to help quell the spike in killings.