°®Âþµº

A Palestinian journalist from , located in the 1948-Israeli occupied , was killed by unidentified gunmen, Palestinian local eyewitnesses said.Ìý

"Nidal Ighbariya, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was shot after he performed the Maghrib prayer in a mosque and went to his car,"Ìýthe eyewitnesses added.Ìý

In June, the 44-year-old journalistÌýposted severalÌýpictures on his accounts on Facebook and Instagram platforms, documenting the attack on his house with a hail of bullets.Ìý

At that time,Ìýthe journalist said,Ìý"My family and I miraculously escaped death because of the unprecedented attack."

According to an Israeli medical source, Ighbariya was critically woundedÌýin the upper part of his body.

Magen David Adom's medical staff provided resuscitation operations for himÌýand then he was urgently transferred to Ha'Emek Hospital in Afula for treatment, but his death was confirmed shortly after despite attempts to save his life.

Since the beginning of this year,Ìý70 Palestinians of Israeli citizens, including seven women, were killed by unidentified people.Ìý

Speaking to °®Âþµº, the journalist's family held Israeli authorities responsible for the incident, mainly as their son filed a complaint about receiving death threats.

According to the family, the threats were due to debts owed by a relative of the deceased, and the police were aware of the threats, without arresting suspects orÌýpreventing the crime.

"Unfortunately, the police are unexpectedly inactive. They always accuse the victim'sÌýfamilies of not cooperating in the investigation to evade responsibility, but we gave them all the evidence and all the threats that Nidal and the family were exposed to,"ÌýMohammed Ighbariya, Nidal's father, told °®Âþµº.Ìý

"Despite the increase of crimes in Arab society, there is no any Israeli action to stopÌýit. This crime will not be the last because we kept silent about all these calamities," he said

"Everyone in this society has become threatened. We all feel fear and anxiety. If someone like Nidal with his good morals was killed, we are all liable to be killed. We walk the streets and count the victims as numbers,"ÌýAlaa Ighbariya, Nidal's cousin, said toÌý°®Âþµº.

"We are shockedÌýandÌýcannot believe what happened in the horror of the tragedy. It is very painful what is happening. How will we tell his daughter what happened?" he added.

Ighbariya is a founder andÌýeditor-in-chief of the local "Baladna" website, which providesÌýnews regardingÌýPalestinians inÌýthe 1948-occupied areas.

Colleagues of Ighbariya accused the Israeli police of failing to protect journalists, in particular,Ìýand the Palestinians of the occupied territories, in general, from the massive killings.Ìý

They stressed that murders and assassinations have risenÌýin recent monthsÌýwithout arrestsÌýof any of the perpetrators.

In a press statement sent to °®Âþµº, Umm al-Fahm municipality condemned the incident, saying, "We stunned and shocked by the killing of Ighbariya."

The municipality called on the Israeli police to take the required steps toÌýarrest and hold accountable the criminals.Ìý