Herzog calls 200th Arab community murder victim of the year 'chilling'

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has condemned the killing of a woman in Kafr Manda, a town in northern Israel, and called on whichever government is formed next to confront criminal organisations and illegal weapons in Arab communities. The Times of Israel reported that the victim, Lina Qassem Zidan, 51, was killed when a grenade was thrown at a shop in the town, an attack that also left three other people wounded.

Herzog posted his response in Hebrew on X. According to Ynet, he said he was shocked by the murder of Lina in Kafr Manda and described security as a basic duty of the state. The Times of Israel said Herzog called Zidan the 200th person murdered in the Arab community this year, a figure he described as "chilling and incomprehensible". The same outlet said police had detained three people suspected of involvement.

What Herzog said

The fullest version of the statement was carried by N12, the news arm of Israel's Channel 12. In it, Herzog said every government that takes office must move firmly and without delay against crime organisations, against lawbreakers and against illegal weapons. He added that human life is not hefker, a Hebrew word for something ownerless or abandoned, which in everyday use describes a situation where nobody takes responsibility and anything goes. He closed by saying security is the state's basic obligation toward its citizens.

The Times of Israel quoted him as saying: "We must intensify the fight against this crime." In its account, Herzog presented the toll of victims as evidence of how serious the crisis of crime and violence in Arab society has become.

Who Herzog is and why he spoke

Isaac Herzog is Israel's president, the head of state. The role is largely ceremonial: the president does not run the government or set policy, which is the work of the prime minister and cabinet. Presidents do, however, often use public statements to address national concerns, and Herzog's appeal was directed at the government rather than issuing any instruction of his own. His wording, addressed to any government yet to be formed rather than to a sitting one, points to a period of political transition, though the reports do not elaborate on it.

Kafr Manda and crime in Arab towns

Kafr Manda is an Arab town in the Galilee region of northern Israel. Arab citizens of Israel, many of whom live in towns and villages across the Galilee and other areas, make up a significant minority of the country's population.

For several years, Arab community leaders, civil society groups and successive Israeli governments have described violent crime in Arab towns as a serious and growing problem. Shootings, killings linked to criminal organisations and the wide availability of illegal firearms have been recurring themes in public debate, as have complaints from Arab citizens that the state has not done enough to protect them. Herzog's statement drew on all of these elements: the role of organised crime, the spread of unlicensed weapons and the state's responsibility to keep its citizens safe.

The figure Herzog cited, that Zidan was the 200th victim in the Arab community this year, comes from his own post as reported by The Times of Israel. The reports do not say how the count was compiled.

The attack

Details of the attack itself are limited. The Times of Israel described it as a grenade attack that targeted a shop, and reported that three suspects had been arrested for allegedly throwing the grenade. N12 reported that Zidan was killed and three others were hurt, without describing the weapon used. The Ynet alert referred only to the murder and to Herzog's comments.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports give the identities of the three suspects, a motive for the attack, or whether Zidan was the intended target. There is no information on the condition of the three people who were wounded, and no response from the police, the government or local leaders in Kafr Manda has been reported alongside Herzog's statement.