Masked Armed Men Enter Wedding Hall in Broad Daylight to Guard Guest

Violence in Israel’s Arab sector has claimed 127 dead since the start of the year, and recent incidents in the Galilee show how brazen it has become. Despite police chief Danny Levi announcing another special anti-crime operation, criminals appear undeterred. One striking case took place in Shfaram, where masked, armed men entered a wedding hall in broad daylight to provide security for one of the guests.

A wedding attendee told ynet, “We crossed every red line. When they came in, we were terrified and thought someone was about to kill us. We did not move from our place. The atmosphere was very frightening, especially because Shfaram is a city where the violence never stops.” Others said, “We have not even seen this level of security for ministers. It proves that criminals do whatever they want, despite the police and all the security forces.”

Elsewhere, a masked assailant burst into the Tawagan restaurant in Tamra the previous day and shot its owner in front of customers, seriously wounding him. The attack happened on the first day the branch opened in the village. A customer said, “A masked person enters a restaurant and opens fire in front of children and women. The criminals want to send a message that they can commit crimes even at businesses without answering to anyone.”

The day before, Majd Sabih, 25, was murdered in Kafr Qanna after, according to suspicion, the shooters linked him to other youths they had clashed with, apparently only because he shared the same surname. His father, Mahmoud, said, “It is hard for us to deal with such a shocking disaster. They asked him what his family name was, and then shot him five times.” A few hours earlier, Imad Agbaria, 51, was killed near Mushayrifa when a car bomb exploded on Route 65, one of northern Israel’s main roads. His wife was in the car and was lightly hurt. Their son Ahmed had been shot dead in the same area three months earlier. Two weeks ago, Levi announced the new operation at a police command briefing, calling it “a powerful operation that will reverberate and seep deep into the crime organizations. We will crush them and hit them one by one.” The operation, named Iron Net, comes as at least five people have been killed or died in less than a month in car bombings, including two in a June 1 blast on Route 40 in the Negev, Daniel Lugassi in late May near Or Akiva, Obanech Yitzhak Dinko in Afula, and Leah Malka, 35, in a May 29 bomb attack on the Ayalon Highway near Holon.