Three people suffered light and moderate wounds in a car explosion on Route 65 near the Arab town of Ar’ara in northern Israel on Friday, police and medics said.
Police from the nearby Ma’ale Iron station and a bomb disposal unit were dispatched to the area to collect evidence and investigate, police said, adding that the incident is thought to be criminal in nature.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said three women were wounded in the explosion, including one who was moderately injured and two who were lightly hurt. The three were evacuated to the Afula Medical Center, according to MDA.
Meanwhile, two men were hospitalized in Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center with stab wounds sustained amid a brawl in the southern Bedouin town of Rahat Friday night, MDA said. They included a 71-year-old in serious condition and a 41-year-old in moderate condition.
The violence came a day after tens of thousands of Arab protesters took to the streets in the northern Arab city of Sakhnin as part of a general strike demanding police rein in a relentless violent crime wave besetting the community.
The march was the largest demonstration to take place in recent years over soaring homicide rates in Arab society, with 20 people killed since the start of 2026, after homicides in the Arab community reached an all-time high in 2025.
Charlie Summers contributed to this report.
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