Daughter of '48 Palestinian deputy mayor killed in Israel

The daughter of a Palestinian deputy mayor in Israel was killed after a bomb that was planted in her car denoted.

Johara Khanifs, daughter of Faraj Khanifs, the deputy mayor of the Arab town of Shefa-Amr (known in Hebrew as Shfaram) was pronounced dead at the scene on Tuesday evening when the attack took place.

Initial police investigations said the 28-year-old was murdered by one of her relatives, however her father dismissed the claims as a "vicious rumour", according to Haaretz.

"This is a delicate case, it is a good and respectable family," a police official said, dismissing any family murder.

Faraj Khanifs is a long-serving deputy mayor of Shefa-Amr and has been in his position for four terms. His wife works at the municipality's department for gender equality and women's advancement.

Khanifs is the 35th murder victim this year in Israel's Palestinian community.

A parliamentary report in August revealed that male Palestinian citizens of Israel aged over 25 are 36 times more likely to fall victim to gun violence than their Jewish Israeli counterparts.

Those living in a predominantly Palestinian area were 30 times more likely to be a victim of gun crime than those living in Jewish neighbourhoods, according to the study.

Gun violence in the Palestinian community in Israel accounts for over 60 percent of all murder victims nationwide, despite Palestinian citizens of Israel making up just over 20 percent of the population.

Police brutality

Palestinian citizens of Israel also face systematic discrimination and complain of being treated as second-class citizens in comparison to their Jewish counterparts.

Large segments of the Israeli public see Palestinian citizens as a demographic threat to Israel's Jewish identity, with discrimination entrenched across housing, public services, education, and employment.

Palestinian citizens of Israel are often at odds with the Israeli police - an institution they believe is taking a passive role in the gun violence epidemic sweeping through their community.

Palestinian gun violence in Israel accounts for over 60 percent of all murders nationwide. There are more than 400,000 illegal weapons among Palestinians in Israel, despite the population being just over two million.