A young woman from East Jerusalem died of gunshot wounds Saturday night after being caught in a firefight between two swollen families.
The Hebrew reports have the woman killed by a stray bullet in Wadi Joz.
Police in Israel said five other people were injured in the collision and were investigating the incident.
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The victim was identified as Maryam al-Takrouri (21).
According to the Haaretz news site, Al-Takrouri returned from the Ramadan prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount when she was shot.
She was pronounced dead at Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem.
Local residents said there was ongoing violence between the two families, which recently saw several people injured by gunfire or fireworks being fired at each other by the competing families, according to the report.
The violence tonight in Wadi Aljaz in Jerusalem. Another victim, this time a 21-year-old woman who was hit by a stray bullet. The brawl has been going on for three days, arson and fireworks and live fire. Tonight escalated because it does not interest anyone and a young woman pays with her life. pic.twitter.com/0uAj9cKfGa
– Jack khoury. جاك خوري (@KhJacki) 18 April 2021
Separately, clashes broke out around the Old City of Jerusalem on Saturday for the fifth consecutive night, as tensions have been rising in East Jerusalem since the beginning of last week of Ramadan, a Muslim religious month.
Police clashed with demonstrators in East Jerusalem after they were pelted with rocks and fire workers. Rioters also hurled stones at a bus and smashed a window near the Damascus Gate of the Old City, which has been at the center of recent violence.
MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, tweeted a video of the clashes and called on Public Security Minister Amir Ohana to launch an investigation into ‘these terrorists’ to deal with ‘, adding:’ Jerusalem becomes the Wild West. ”
Good week. Calls on my friend Minister Ohana, whom I have praised quite a few times, to order the establishment of the IDF to use these terrorists – Jerusalem becomes the Wild West. Https://t.co/geXOU61gGl
– Itamar Ben Gvir (@itamarbengvir) 17 April 2021
The incident comes amid a spate of killings in the Arab community.
Two brothers from the Arab Israeli city of Baqa al-Gharbiya were shot dead overnight Thursday night in the Palestinian West Coast city of Tulkarem.
Shafa Abu Hussein and his brother Salah, both in their twenties, were shot in their vehicle during a shooting. Palestinian Authority police said the car carrying the gunmen also carried Israeli license plates, the report said on Friday. The motive remains unclear.
Unable to open the browser window to be able to connect to the browser in the full screen, if you want to read the message on the screen. pic.twitter.com/RBiadRsINM
– ،مد ، المقادمة | ???????? ✪ (@maqadema) 16 April 2021
According to the Ynet news website, the two become the 31st and 32nd Arab Israelis to die in violent conditions this year, making Al-Takrouri the 33rd.
Arab cities and towns have seen an increase in violence in recent years, with organized crime as the main driver. Arab Israelis blame the police, who they say are not cracking down on powerful criminal organizations.
عاجل: اطلاق نار وأنباء عن وقوع اصابات وقتلى في طولكرم pic.twitter.com/5z6jEE0BCc
– Nafethanews | النافذة الاخبارية (@nafethanews) 16 April 2021
Police also said overnight on Friday that they had arrested 69 suspects in the Israeli city of Ramle after reports of gunfire in the Gan Haqal area.
The suspects, from two feisty families, are said to have shot and thrown stones and Molotov cocktails at each other. A police officer was lightly wounded during the chaos due to gunfire.
A car is seen damaged in Ramla after two swollen families fought fiercely on April 16, 2021. (Police spokesperson)
On Monday, a 38-year-old woman was shot dead in the Arab Israeli city of Tira. Last Friday, two cousins were shot dead in the Arab city of Deir al-Asad. Hours earlier, a man had been shot dead at the entrance to his home in the Bedouin village of Ibtin.
In 2020, 96 Arab Israelis were killed, by far the highest annual toll in recent memory.
According to police, more than 90 percent of the shootings in Israel took place in Arab communities last year. Arab Israelis account for about one-fifth of the country’s population.
