A statement from the non-governmental organization Initiatives of Abraham stressed that Mohammad Agbarya, 25, was the latest fatality after being shot early this morning in the northern city of Umm al-Fahm.

The entity detailed that, of the total, more than 160 of them were Israeli citizens and 161 were killed with firearms.

These deaths are part of a wave of violent crime affecting Arab localities in recent years.

Many community leaders blame the police for ignoring and even tolerating powerful criminal organizations.

The far-right government blames the burgeoning organized crime and the proliferation of weapons on the streets.

Violence increasingly spilled over into municipal politics in recent weeks, with threats and attacks targeting mayors, candidates, Arab authorities and their families.

Each of these victims was the result of rampant flourishing crime and violence that proliferates in the absence of the state, Initiatives of Abraham denounced in its latest report on the issue, published in July.

The descendants of Palestinians who were not expelled from their lands after the creation of the Jewish state in 1948 have since complained that they are treated as second-class citizens.

A survey conducted in March last year revealed that 94% of Arabs living in Israel had at one time or another suffered racism and discrimination from the Hebrew majority.

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