The discovery of the body of 19-year-old Hamda Abu-Ganem in her home in the Ramle neighborhood of Juarish didn't surprise Ramle Police Superintendent Yigal Ezra. Although many people, including Ezra, tried to help Abu-Ganem run from the fate that awaited her, she remained in her parents' house - and became the seventh woman in her family to be murdered in an "honor killing" in as many years. Three youths were arrested for the crime yesterday and are expected to face a remand hearing today.

"A few young criminals in Juarish set up a group that decides which of the women has violated the honor of the family," said Ezra. "For instance, if a woman spoke to someone on a cell phone, or laughed with a man, that is sometimes considered a violation of the family honor, from their perspective. They plan how the murder will take place, who will carry it out and even find an alibi for the murderer. From the moment someone is marked, there is no way out."

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Hamda Abu-Ganem did temporarily escape her fate. She left home at 16 to live in a battered women's shelter for two years, after her brother decided she had violated the family honor and severely beat her. The brother was arrested and indicted, but the court released him to house arrest.

"Since [Hamda] had become a helpless minor, and due to the concern that she would be hurt, we removed her from her home under court order and put her in a shelter," said Ezra.

But Hamda ran away from the shelter twice, and on the day she turned 18, she returned home. Police and municipal social services staff warned her that she was at risk, but they said Hamda told them she would stay at her parents' house anyway. Ezra said she refused an offer of an apartment where she could live in hiding, as well as an offer to help her leave the country. Hamda's younger sister is now hiding at a shelter in the wake of threats to her life.

Around noon yesterday, Hamda was killed in her bed by two bullets to the stomach. Police received a call reporting gunshots and learned she had been killed.

"After the fate of these young girls has been determined, no one does anything to help them," said Ezra. "I myself have had girls who were threatened stay at my house more than once. Every once in a while we try to organize some activity to raise awareness of the issue. Just a month ago there was a meeting in Juarish, and everyone talked about the importance of fighting against the phenomenon. But it's only nice on paper, because in practice the criminals who do this don't come to these meetings and don't listen to the people who participate in them."

But Aida Touma-Suleiman, director of the non-profit Women Against Violence, said police are largely to blame for the continued deaths of Arab women in honor killings.

"The murderers are criminals, and the police have to get their hands on them, but they tend to look away, not investigate and not reach the [stage of] indictments," she said. "In the last 20 years, there have been 24 instances in which women have been murdered in Ramle and Lod. How many of the murderers were captured? When people have no sense of security, it's clear they won't go and talk to the police, because afterward they'll be hurt."

The head of the Shfela region police, Commander Yifrah Duchovny, said it is outrageous to blame the police.

"The police invest tremendous effort in every such murder case, but the work involved is much harder because there is a phenomenon of silent consent to these murders - whether from fear or because of worldview," he said. "The hardest part at these crime scenes is the quiet: Each time my stomach turns over in finding the body of a young girl, and around her the house is quiet. Everyone stands silent. There is no crying, there is no shouting and there is no cooperation."

Suleiman acknowledged that Arab society has not dealt with the issue of honor killings as much as it has with revenge killings. A rally is planned for next month in Ramle to protest the phenomenon, she said.