40-year-old man fatally shot in Ramle; police detain 5 relatives for questioning

Killing comes day after man in his 50s was killed in broad daylight in Lod, as violent crime continues to grip Arab communities

A 40-year-old man was fatally shot late Saturday in the central city of Ramle during the course of a physical altercation.

Paramedics who arrived at the scene said they found a critically injured victim and began treatment as they transported him to the Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center (also known as Assaf Harofeh Medical Center), where he was later pronounced dead.

According to Hebrew media reports, five relatives of the victim were detained by police for questioning as part of the investigation into the suspected murder.

The incident appears to be the latest murder in Israel’s Arab communities which have seen a surge in violence in recent years.

On Friday, a 52-year-old man was shot dead in broad daylight in Lod, adjacent to Ramle. The victim, identified by the Ynet news site as Lod resident Marwan Wachwach, was found unconscious and without a pulse inside a car on Ben Gurion Boulevard in the city.

He was evacuated to the Shamir Medical Center in critical condition while paramedics administered life-saving treatment. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.

According to Ynet, the victim’s brother was killed two years ago under similar circumstances.

Separately on Friday, a man in his 30s was seriously injured after being shot in an open field near the Arab town of Manda in the lower Galilee.

He was evacuated to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

In an effort to apprehend the culprit, police set up roadblocks in the area.

Friday’s incidents follow a spate of crime-related shootings in the Arab community in the past few weeks.

Last weekend, four individuals were injured in shooting incidents across the country, including a 10-year-old boy who was hit by a stray bullet near the Arab town of Ein Mahil in northern Israel.

Arab communities across the country have seen a surge in violence in recent years. Many blame the police, who they say have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignore the violence, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars and violence against women.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, a group campaigning against violence in the Arab community, over 70 Israeli Arabs have been killed in crime-related incidents since the beginning of the year. Among the 70 victims, 58 were shot to death and 41 were younger than 30.