Israel: Palestinian former Knesset candidate murdered in his car
A Palestinian adviser to Israel's education minister was shot dead on Sunday in the town of Rameh, in northern Israel, according to local news reports.
Saher Ismail, 50, was a candidate in the latest Israeli elections and prior to his death served as an adviser to Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, who has expressed her shock at the incident.
Ismail died as a result of critical wounds after the shooting attack, which took place as he was sitting in his car outside his home in Rameh, a Palestinian town.
Earlier this year, Ismail ran on the election list of the New Hope party, which was created by Gideon Sa'ar after Sa'ar quit the Likud party in March.
Commenting on the killing, Sa'ar described Ismail as "an honest and brave leader, a true friend".
Haaretz reported that Israeli police have launched a murder investigation into Ismail's death.
According to the Abraham Initiatives NGO, last year saw the murder of 97 Arab citizens of Israel, compared to less than half that number in the Jewish community.
Ismail's murder brings the number of Palestinians killed in Israel so far in 2021 to 70, according to Haaretz.
The newspaper said that Israeli police last year successfully investigated just one-third of Arab murders, compared with two-thirds of murders in the majority Jewish population.
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