20-year-old Arab shot dead in Israel, becoming the 217th victim this year

A 20-year-old Palestinian citizen of Israel was shot dead yesterday in Ramle city, central Israel, reported the Times of Israel, becoming the 217th Arab killed in crime-related violence this year.

Israeli police suspect that the motive behind the shooting is linked to an ongoing feud between rival families. Authorities have initiated an investigation into his shooting.

The victim, identified as Sammy Alsmali, was in a serious condition and was transported to Assaf Harofeh Medical Centre; he was later pronounced dead.

According to the police statement, “part of a weapon” had been found in the yard of a compound near the shooting location. The item has been collected for additional examination.

More than 200 Arab citizens of Israel have been killed in crime-related violence since January – a seven-year high – in a spate of killings that have continued unchecked, drawing accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist government was ignoring the bloodshed.

Arabs blame the Israeli apartheid regime, namely Israel Police, for not taking action to fight the rising crime rates in their communities and have been protesting outside Netanyahu’s office against his “complicity” in the increasing murder rates in the Arab towns.

It comes after five members of an Arab family were shot dead in their home in Israel, in September, including a woman and two teenagers, in the northern town of Basmat Tab’un followed by a separate incident in which a 50-year-old man was killed days later.

According to theTimes of Israel, records indicate that 217 Palestinian citizens of Israel have lost their lives this year.

Palestinian citizens of Israel face systematic discrimination and complain of being treated as second-class citizens in comparison to their Jewish counterparts. Numerous human rights groups decry Israeli policies against Arabs as a form of modern-day apartheid, with Arabs suffering racial discrimination in education, work and health care.

Read: Israeli forces randomly target journalists in Gaza City