Israeli Police Fatally Shoot Arab Citizen in Lod Amid Rising Tensions
London-Israeli police fatally shot an Arab citizen in the central Israeli city of Lod on Wednesday following what authorities described as an attempted stabbing, marking the latest fatal police shooting involving a Palestinian citizen of Israel this year.
The man, identified as Sami Ahmed Jasous, was in his twenties. According to the Palestine News Agency, he was the sixth Palestinian citizen of Israel to be killed by Israeli police since January.
Police said the shooting occurred after an alleged attempted stabbing. No further details about the incident or any injuries to police officers were immediately released.
Lod, located southeast of Tel Aviv, is a mixed Jewish-Arab city with a population of about 105,000. Around 70% of residents are Jewish, while the remainder are Arab citizens of Israel.
The incident comes amid broader concerns over crime and policing within Israel’s Arab communities. Arab citizens have long raised complaints over home demolitions linked to unauthorized construction and have accused authorities of failing to address rising levels of violent crime.
On Wednesday, a prominent figure from Israel’s Arab community was killed in a car explosion in the northern city of Haifa. The death was the seventh homicide reported over a three-day period. Separate incidents in the towns of Basma and Shfaram also left two young men dead.
Arab members of the Knesset have repeatedly called on the government to strengthen efforts against organized crime and increase oversight of police conduct. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose portfolio includes oversight of the police, has faced criticism from some lawmakers who accuse him of failing to curb criminal violence in Arab communities.
According to figures cited in the report, 252 Arab citizens were killed in homicide-related incidents during 2025, accounting for about 80% of all homicide victims in Israel, despite Arab citizens representing roughly 21% of the country’s population.
