Current sectionIsrael NewsIsrael Crime & JusticeResidents say calls for revenge have been circulating on social media among people identified with both sides of a feud between two families. 'People in the city feel that something bigger has started,' said one Nazareth residentShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeThe scene of the murder in Nazareth on Thursday. Credit: Deiaa Haj YahiaThe scene of the murder in Nazareth on Thursday. Credit: Deiaa Haj YahiaSeptember 04, 2026Just a few meters from Nazareth's main road, in the crowded, bustling eastern neighborhood of al-Sharqiya, a resident was murdered for the fourth time in 24 hours. According to eyewitness accounts, the victim, Mahmoud Biatra, 30, was standing near his home's entrance when two masked individuals on a scooter opened fire on him from close range. Thirteen bullets were fired at him, three of which hit his head, and he died shortly thereafter.An Israel Police official told Haaretz that police suspect a case of a revenge killing, as clashes take place between the Bakri and Nafafaa crime families. The two families have been fighting each other over protection money, territory and control. The official said that police also suspect a connection between the three other murders on Wednesday and the criminal feud. However, the question of the connection between the cases does not concern residents as much as the fear of a new cycle of revenge killings that has only just begun. Mahmoud Biatra, 30Mahmoud Biatra, 30Residents say calls for revenge have been circulating on social media since Thursday among people identified with both sides. "People in the city feel that something bigger has started," said Jaber Abu Ahmad, a Nazareth resident. "When there are four fatalities in a day, and there's constant talk of revenge about who should retaliate against whom, you no longer know where it'll stop," he added. "The fear isn't just among those connected to the conflict. If shooting starts in the streets, even a person with no connection can pay with their life."The bloody 24-hour period began on Wednesday around 7 P.M., when Nour Nafafaa, 32, and Nour Khalu, 20, were shot to death while sitting in a car in the city. The perpetrators fired several bullets at the two from close range with an automatic weapon and fled the scene. Shortly thereafter, a car that had caught fire was found about half a kilometer from the murder scene. Police suspect that the perpetrators used it.About two hours later, Mustafa Badra, 27, was murdered. Police suspect he was murdered in revenge for the double murder of Nafafaa and Khalo, but it is also being investigated whether he was even the target. The crime scene where Mustafa Badra, 27, was murdered. Credit: Magen David AdomThe crime scene where Mustafa Badra, 27, was murdered.Credit: Magen David AdomA source familiar with the details said several other people fled when the armed individuals arrived, while Badra remained at the scene and was wounded by the gunfire. Afterward, the source said, he was shot again when he could no longer escape. The next day, in the evening hours, Mahmoud Biatra, the fourth victim in that 24-hour period, was also murdered. Speaking with Haaretz, a relative of Badra denied the possibility that he was involved in the conflict between the organizations. "They murdered him in cold blood," he said. "He has no connection to the earlier events or to criminal organizations." "Since the murder, everyone has been trying to understand why it was him specifically," he added. "They took a person who had no connection to anything and left an entire family with that question."Deiaa Abu Ahmad, imam of Al-Salam Mosque, which is near the murder scene, said he knew Biatra, who lived next to the mosque. "He used to sit on his home's balcony, and he was murdered through no fault of his own," he said. "And the young people murdered yesterday – that is very painful. Young people at the start of their lives are murdered like this, and in the end, those left with the pain are their parents and families."Haaretz Election Podcast: Do Israelis care about settler violence enough to change their vote?Abu Ahmad added that the residents' feeling of helplessness is growing, and that fear is palpable in the city's streets. "Nazareth residents are very worried and very afraid of what is happening," he noted. "People call us and ask: 'When will this end?' Everyone here is sad and pained by what is happening. But there is a lot of worry and fear beyond the sadness. People don't know what else awaits us and where all this will stop."He stated that religious leaders can warn, influence and remind the public of the high cost of violence, but they lack the tools to deal with those who choose to break the law. "We can guide people, talk to them and remind them, but the power lies with the police. They are the ones who can arrest, investigate and act against criminals," he explained. "All our conversations, all the verses from the Quran and all the appeals we direct at criminals won't help if there is no enforcement."Abu Ahmad said the police must take up the fight against crime and act decisively. "Crime must be hit hard, through arrests and imprisonments, by restricting criminals' movement and hurting them economically," he said.The head of the Bakri crime family, Samir Bakri, is currently in jail. In February, an indictment was filed against him and other senior members of the organization, alleging, among other things, that the organization operated a system of extortion and money laundering. He is also accused of attempting to take control of tenders and funds within the Nazareth municipality.In the NewsJohn Malkovich Cancels Israel Performance Over Quotes Falsely Attributed to HimTrump: Iran War Will End 'Immediately' After the U.S. Midterm ElectionDenisovan Culture Revealed in Bat Cave in ChinaU.S. Jewish Umbrella Group Condemns Import Ban on Goods From Israeli SettlementsEarliest Known Drug Use and Its Consequences Discovered in IndonesiaRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMINetanyahu Got an Explicit Warning Before Oct. 7. He Didn't Brief Security ChiefsThink Bibi Is Bad? Meet Sara NetanyahuIMDb Replaces the Name Israel With 'The Occupied Palestinian Territories'Netanyahu Was Warned About October 7. 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