Police arrested 30 people in Nazareth in two overnight operations early Thursday and early Friday on suspicion of involvement in gang violence, as a 30-year-old man was shot and killed in the Arab Israeli city, becoming the fourth homicide victim there in less than 24 hours.

In a statement, police said dozens of officers stormed several compounds belonging to gangs, and “in several cases” arrested suspects who tried to escape, chasing them down on foot before taking them into custody.

The officers seized “a large number of weapons,” police said in a statement, including a hand grenade, a handgun and ammunition, “and thus prevented their use in the [gangland] conflict.”

“The Israel Police has been operating intensely in Nazareth over the last year, and has managed to put heads of the Bakri crime organization in prison,” the statement continued.

“The internal struggle of local criminal gangs will be answered with uncompromising strength and determination, in order to protect citizens’ security and wellbeing,” the police said.

Police said 10 suspects were arrested overnight Thursday-Friday, in addition to 20 who were arrested in the city the previous night, including a murder victim’s brother whose remand was extended on Thursday until September 8.

Meanwhile, a 30-year-old man was shot and killed Thursday evening, making him the fourth homicide victim in the city in less than 24 hours.

The latest casualty was identified by the Abraham Initiatives watchdog as Mahmoud Biatra.

According to Channel 13,........

© The Times of Israel