16-year-old Israeli Shot Dead in Central Israel
Neighbors say teenager was sitting in front of apartment building in Ramle when he was killed by an unknown assailant
A 16-year-old boy was shot dead in Ramle's Juarish neighborhood on Saturday, and police are investigating the case as a possible murder.
A neighbor said Mahmoud Atawna was "just a boy – an educated, good and disciplined boy. [He] came from a good home, he would play with everyone in the neighborhood... [With the new year] we have begun a new count of murder victims in the Arab community, and we hope he will be the last."
Listen: Under Trump, haters don't need an excuse to attack Jews. Ep. 55
According to neighbors, Atawna was sitting at the entrance to the building in which his family lives when an unknown assailant shot him.
A member of the family criticized police, saying, "Where are they every day? If a 16-year-old boy was murdered somewhere else in the country, the entire police is on its feet and catch [the suspect] in two hours, but if a boy is murdered in Ramle they don't care, because it's good for them that the Arabs murder Arabs."
Police suspect that the kiling was related to a preexisting conflict between the Atawna family and other clans in Ramle and Lod.
In August, a businessman was shot and killed as he was driving in the same neighborhood. The 48-year-old was a local resident and was known as an affluent person who split his time between Israel and London.
- Bedouin shot dead in Israel's north three months after brother killed
- Amid wave of violence, teen’s killing shocks Israel's Arab community
- As number of murders rises, police and Israeli Arabs at odds over solutions
That same month, a 23-year-old was shot dead in a public park in the city in what police suspected was a confrontation between criminals. During the victim's funeral procession, a 24-year-old – apparently a relative – was also shot dead.
On Monday, the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old in Jaffa was 2019's 91st murder of an Israeli Arab.