Three men in their 30s were pronounced dead after they were wounded in a shooting on Bialik Street in Ramle, Magen David Adom reported Friday evening.
MDA medics and paramedics who were called to the scene found the men unconscious, and after performing medical examinations, pronounced them dead at the scene.
The police have opened an investigation into the incident. Local officers began operational searches and secured the scene after receiving a report of the incident, which occurred near a hookah lounge.
Police began collecting evidence together with forensic investigators as part of the investigation, and later arrested a resident of Lod in his twenties who is suspected of being involved in the murders of the three. The arrest was made in the Pardes Shnir neighborhood of the city after police officers from both Ramle and Lod began searches for suspects.
Police noted their belief that the incident was a result of a conflict between clans in Ramle. The three victims of the attack had also reportedly ran a hookah business, according to police.
"The Israeli government continues to neglect tackling crime in Arab society," NGO The Abraham Initiatives said in an official statement. "The government's lack of will and ability to fight leads to endless bloodshed on the streets. The government must stop everything and pay attention to what the root cause of these crimes is."
Urgency of tackling crime in Arab sectors
In early March, Acting Civil Service Commissioner Attorney Roi Kahlon sent a letter to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, asking her to declare an "enforcement emergency" in response to a recent surge in murders in the Arab sector. This included a request to weekly meetings among law enforcement leaders to develop a proper response to the escalating violence.
Kahlon's previous appeal to the attorney-general was less than a month earlier, which he also notes in his letter, that 10 Arabs were killed in crime-related incidents in the time between issuing both appeals.
Days before Kahlon filed his second appeal, Israeli Arab swimming champion and silver medalist Ayham Nasser was was shot and killed in Tira in a murder that severely impacted the Israeli sports community.
About 72 Arabs in Israel have been killed this year in crime-related incidents as of Friday, according to the Abraham Initiatives, with 38 of them being the age of 30 or under. Three of the 72 killed were women. Sixty-three of them were killed in shootings, while police officers shot four.
Around the same time last year, there were only 50 crime-related deaths in Arab society.
Avraham Bloch contributed to this report.