New footage released Friday morning showed a drive-by shooting in Haifa last night that killed a young man, amid a prolonged crime wave ravaging Israel’s Arab community.
The victim, who was shot while driving in the northern city, was identified as 30-year-old Haifa resident Hossam Ottman.
In the video, what appears to be filmed from a camera in the rear windshield of the car, a white car can be seen stopping at an intersection when a black car driving behind the vehicle comes next to it.
As the black car crawls forward, one of its rear doors opens and a man holding a pistol emerges partially, shoots several times at the white car and closes the door as the vehicle stops and the other turns on the road.
The car filming the incident also accelerates as the white car, which Ottman was apparently driving, remains at the crossroads.
After the shooting, Ottman was taken by paramedics to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, where he was pronounced dead.
Stops next to vehicle, opens rear door – and shoots: Documenting Hossam Othman’s murder in Haifa@CBeyar https://t.co/iIoZPxckWf pic.twitter.com/He7n1GK06a
— news here (@kann_news) September 24, 2021
Police have opened an investigation into Ottman’s murder and are investigating whether a car was set on fire near the shooting site, which was used by suspects.
No arrests have been announced.
News outlets that circulated the footage on Friday morning did not indicate where the video was obtained, and whether the person filming it was linked to the murder.
The fatal shooting in Haifa comes after several others were killed over the past week, sparking an #Arab_Lives_Matter campaign on social media.
“We are losing our children and the government is not doing anything. There are no words. #Arab_Lives_Matter,” tweeted Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List Knesset Party and Haifa resident, after the shooting.
According to the Abraham Initiatives non-profit, 76 billion Israeli civilians have been killed in the killings this year. In 2020, 96 billion Israelis were killed in sectarian violence, the highest annual toll ever in recent memory.
Arabs blame the Israeli police, which they say have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignore violence, including family feuds, mafia turf wars and violence against women.
Israeli officials are reportedly ready to immediately recruit hundreds of new police officers and engage the Shin Bet security agency to combat violent crime in Arab communities.