Two men shot in Jaffa, 1 in critical condition

Police are conducting searches for the suspect. A criminal motive is suspected. 

By World Israel News Staff

Two young men in their 20s were shot in heavily Arab Jaffa on Sunday. One is in critical condition, the other is listed as moderate.

Police are conducting searches for the suspect. A criminal motive is suspected.

Magen David Adom medic Yosef Kurdi said of the critically wounded man, “The wounded man was lying on the sidewalk near the building with gunshot wounds to his body.

“We provided him with primary medical care that included bandages and stopped bleeding, we quickly put him in an intensive care unit and evacuated him to the hospital in critical condition.”

A 70-year-old man nearby suffered from shock and received medical treatment.

Violence in Jaffa is not an unknown phenomenon, with most related to crime. In June of last year, a 20-year-old man was shot to death while a 12-year-old bystander was critically wounded by a gunman on a motorcycle who fled the scene.

Last July, four young Jews were surrounded by Arab rioters in Jaffa. They said they narrowly escaped a lynching.

There has been a rise in violent crime among Israel’s Arab population with illegal firearms easy to come by. In a particularly brazen shooting, two Arab men were shot on Highway 6 while being escorted by police to a safe location.

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In Nov. 2018, Israel formed a special volunteer police unit to help enforce law and order in largely Arab sectors of Jerusalem.