21-year-old killed in northern Israel: 'Police aren’t the only ones to blame, we must help ourselves'

Mahmoud Khalil Saaida, whose 21-year-old nephew, Wael, was killed last night in a shooting in the northern Bedouin village of Shibli, Umm al-Ghanam, spoke about the rising violence in Arab communities with KAN News’ Esti Perez on Reshet B radio on Tuesday morning.

"The police aren’t the only ones to blame. We have to help ourselves," he said. "Anyone who carries out such actions should be expelled from the country and face harsh punishments in court."

“The people who shot Wael didn’t come from far away; they are from this area here,” Saaida explained. He pointed to education in the Arab society as the factor behind the high crime rate: “We need to teach better values. Here, 18-year-olds roam without purpose, unlike you all, who go to the army and receive education there.”

Saaida recounted the details of the attack: “He was about to go into a store to buy some things and was sitting in his car. Suddenly, people came in another car—I don’t know how many—and shot him.”

He testified to his nephew’s lack of involvement in any disputes: “If he had been mixed up in anything, we would have known. The police also confirm he had no criminal record. He used to work for six months and spend the other half of the year traveling. He visited Ukraine, Croatia, Turkey, and Morocco.”