Israeli police has discovered a severed head of a man in the northern Bedouin town of Basmat Tab’un. The discovery in the town has raised conflicting reports due to the nature of the murder.
The victim was identified as Rabia Araidi, 43, the son of the late Druze author and scholar Naim Araidi who also served as Israel’s ambassador to Norway in 2012-2014.
The decapitated head is feared to have been done by terrorists, but Israeli police has doused the tension, noting it was something else.
According to Israeli police, the head was kept further away from where the body was found. The body was discovered in the Zalmon stream, while the head was discovered in an open area.
There was no alarm raised by the family for a missing person and neither was a report to the police. The discovery was not as a result of finding, but was accidentally seen by a passerby.
Israeli police quickly initiated investigation into the discovery, to finding out what happened.
According to the update so far, the killing was linked to a criminal syndicate. Police noted that the “gruesome murder” was not linked to a terrorist group.
According to the Walla news site, Araidi was part of the Abu Latif crime organization.
A police official when speaking to Channel 12 raised the concern of a terrorist attack against Araidi through his comments. He noted that the murder was done in same manner as Islamic State massacres.
His words to Channel 12 quoted the plot of the murder was “reminiscent of the photos of Islamic State massacres.”
Reacting to the discovery, The Abraham Initiatives, a coexistence advocacy group that tracks violence in the Arab community, said that Araidi’s was the 92nd Arab homicide since the start of 2024, compared to 102 from the same period in 2023, which, according to the organization, was the bloodiest year on record for the community
There is palpable fear that the murder may have been as a result of the war going on in Gaza.
Israeli government has reported about infiltration by Hezbollah terrorist group in the North.
A recent video that circulated online showed Israeli Defence Forces using old means of throwing ball of fire over a border fence with aim to clear a vegetation on the other side of the border of Hezbollah terrorists.
The skirmishes in the northern border of the country is continuing with escalations being seen of recent.
Hezbollah fired about 260 rockets at the Northern front, after it announced the death of its most senior commander in Israeli strike.
Troops have been mobilized on the border, with invasion that would mark a full scale war possible.
Israel remains patient as diplomatic approach is being used to withdraw Hezbollah elite forces from the North.
Suspicions among sceptical residents are that Araidi’s father being a former ambassador might be the reason for such cruel murder, but police has ruled out a terrorist attack after investigation.
The northern part of Israel has largely been evacuated due to constant rocket fire, and the absence of people may have led to the late discovery of such crime.
