Police arrest ex-husband, brother of woman, 26, shot and seriously hurt in Lod

Police arrested on Saturday the ex-husband and brother of 26-year-old Lamis Abu Laban who was shot and seriously wounded a day earlier in the central city of Lod, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

Abu Laban is a mother of three young children and was recently divorced.

Relatives told the Haaretz daily that she “feared for her life” due to violence from her ex-husband, and had spent time living in a women’s shelter. The report said she had previously filed a complaint with police on the matter.

According to Hebrew-language reports, the gunman waited in ambush for Abu Laban and opened fire as she drove up to her home on Friday evening.

She was treated at the scene by paramedics from the Magen David Adom ambulance service before she was taken to Assaf Harofeh Medical Center.

Abu Laban underwent multiple surgeries overnight and was said on Saturday morning to be in serious but stable condition.

Citing police sources, reports said the initial suspicion is that the shooting was linked to the woman’s divorce.

The Ynet news site said Abu Laban had originally lived in Lod but recently spent time in Haifa with her children, where she was receiving help from the city’s welfare authorities.

Channel 12 news said she had decided to move permanently to the northern city with her children, a decision that reportedly angered some people.

“She went through a difficult period in her life,” an anonymous acquaintance told Ynet. “Not everyone around her was happy with her decision to move to Haifa. She recently returned to Lod, and yesterday they tried to kill her.”

Another friend said that Abu Laban had felt unsafe in Lod.

“She is a wonderful woman who loves to take care of her children. She went through difficulties and suffered in her life, and unfortunately did not find safety, so she moved to Haifa. There she was safe, but when she returned to Lod she was shot,” the friend said.

Labor MK Naama Lazimi, a member of the Knesset’s Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, called on the government to take action on violence against women.

“The State of Israel must understand that its most basic and important role is to maintain security in all areas of civilian life,” Lazimi told the Walla news site. “I promise to fight for our lives, implement plans to eradicate violence and the murder of women, promote legislation and policies to prevent the next victim, and call on authorities to do everything possible to prevent the next murder.”

Arab communities have seen a surge in violence in recent years, driven mainly by organized crime. Arab Israelis 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. The community has also suffered from decades of neglect.

Activists have long complained that not enough is done to prevent violence against women in Israel, particularly in cases known to the authorities.