19-year-old woman shot dead as gun violence continues to plague Palestinians communities in Israel

The teenager, named as Zamzam Mahamid by Arab48, was pronounced dead after succumbing to her gunshot wounds in a hospital in the northern Israeli city of Afula, where she was taken by ambulance.

Emergency responders scrambled to the area in the aftermath of the attack, according to a police statement, who said they opened an investigation immediately.

Nothing is known about the perpetrators of the crime, and the investigation is ongoing, a later police statement added.

At least 13 Palestinian citizens of Israel have been killed in separate incidents so far this year.

Read more: A deadly gun violence epidemic has gripped Palestinian communities. Is Israeli police neglect to blame? 

By the end of last year, that number stood at 93, including 11 women, representing an increase of 17 on the previous year, and 21 on the year before.

The rising murder rates in the marginalised community have spawned a grassroots protest movement, involving senior figures within the Palestinian Joint List party, who collectively decry Israeli police inaction and political indifference to resolve the crisis.

Analysts believe that a large section of criminal activity is rooted in the Palestinians' exclusion from the formal Israeli economy and competition over scarce resources, as well as decades of social exclusion.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected