Under police surveillance, yet carried out the hit: indictment against three who went for blood revenge
The Haifa District Attorney's Office filed a serious indictment against three residents of the north and the Negev, including a 17-year-old minor, for the murder of Muhammad Mahamid in Umm al-Fahm as revenge for the murder of one of the defendants' wife. The three were under police surveillance, and wiretaps documented the planning and execution. Evidence includes DNA, fingerprints, and a Kalashnikov found in a burnt vehicle.
The Haifa District Attorney's Office today (Monday) filed a serious indictment with the District Court against three residents of the north and the Negev: Kerem Gabarin, 42, from Mushayrifa; Sa'id al-Sayyid, 23, from the al-Sayyid tribe in the Negev; and a minor about 17 years old from Umm al-Fahm. They are charged with premeditated murder under aggravated circumstances of Muhammad Mahamid, along with weapons offenses, aggravated assault, arson, destruction of evidence, and obstruction of justice. The prosecution requested their detention until the end of proceedings and revealed an extensive evidentiary infrastructure including wiretaps that documented the planning and execution in real time, along with unequivocal forensic and technological evidence. The police followed the defendants and feared their intention to avenge the murder of Gabarin's wife, Nur, who was killed in August 2025, but failed to prevent the murder. The recordings reveal how Gabarin planned to avenge his wife's death, and he was even heard telling the minor: "This is my wife's blood, I live here and everyone is passing responsibility." On the night before the hit, the defendants were recorded removing license plates from two trucks to mount them on the getaway vehicle. On July 5, 2026, while Gabarin and al-Sayyid waited in ambush near the "Abu Nadeem" bakery in Umm al-Fahm, the minor waited in the getaway vehicle and documented a whispered report. Mahamid was shot in the back at least nine times at close range, and a commercial vehicle driver was wounded in the leg. After the shooting, the defendants fled in the getaway vehicle, and recordings documented them reconstructing the hit in cold blood. The police have a strong chain of evidence: DNA on cola cans and disposable cups, fingerprints on the vehicle windows, and a Kalashnikov found in the burnt shell of the execution vehicle. The defendants remained silent and were arrested after a manhunt. They also sent the getaway vehicle to be repainted in a garage in Barta'a to eliminate evidence.