Israel: Pregnant woman stabbed to death as Arab Homicides continue

Tel Aviv [Israel]: A pregnant Israeli-Arab woman was stabbed to death in the city of Lod on Thursday morning, bringing to 222 the number of Israeli-Arabs homicides in 2023, an unprecedented number for one year.

The woman, in her 20s and in an advanced state of pregnancy, was taken to the Assaf HaRofeh Hospital in Be'er Yaakov with stab wounds. Doctors performed an emergency C-section but were unable to save the mother or the fetus.

According to the Abraham Initiative, a Jewish-Arab organization which promotes Arab integration into Israel society, 222 Arab-Israelis have been killed in criminal violence since the beginning of 2023.
For comparison, 116 Arab-Israelis were murdered in 2022.

This year's spike in violence is attributed to organized crime groups fighting turf battles and trying to eliminate rivals. Arab criminal organizations have been involved in extortion, money laundering, trafficking in weapons, drugs and women.

Local leaders have called on the government to take action.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported giving the Shin Bet security agency a more active role in fighting the rising crime, but this suggestion was opposed by both Arab leaders and Shin Bet officials.

In the 55 days since Hamas's Oct. 7 massacres and the war in Gaza, there has been a marked drop in crime in the Arab sector.