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."
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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.
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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.