Murder victim Bissan Abu Gannam feared for her life
Bissan was tenth woman in her family to be killed; MK Zoabi: Bissan was one of the helpless victims, who felt she had no tools to deal with phenomenon that keeps expanding in Arab society'.
Ramle resident Bissan Abu Gannam had expressed fears for her life before she was brutally shot dead inside her car on Sunday, a family member said Monday. She was the the tenth woman in her family to have been murdered.
"I heard her say many times that she didn't understand why she was being harassed. She was hoping that she wouldn't be murdered like her two sisters before her, so that she could continue to take care of her children," the relative said.
Residents of her neighborhood have rejected claims that Abu Gannam, a mother of seven who was pregnant when she was killed, was murdered in an "honor killing".
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Abu Gannam, 31, had remarried after divorcing her first husband and was planning to continue her education. On Saturday, she attended a wedding with her mother, after which she visited her sister in hospital. On her way to pick up her children, she was shot inside of her car.
"We still don't know the reasons for the murder," said Amer Abu Gannam, the victim's cousin, "Bissan was a good woman and a wonderful person; people only had good things to say about her.
"The thought of someone taking her life never crossed our minds and there was nothing unusual about her behavior. We are all in shock and I am hoping the police will find and punish the murderers – we want to know the motive for this murder," he added.
Another female member of the Abu Gannam family has expressed her concerns for the future.
"We don't know who is killing the Abu Gannam women, perhaps we are next. Now Bissan is gone and tomorrow other women will be murdered for no reason," she said.
"She always said to me 'I don’t know if I will be able to make my dream and ambitions a reality; I hope I will succeed in overcoming my difficulties. I am a women just like any other woman who wants success,"' she added.
This violence, the relative said, is the price paid by women in the Arab sector seeking to fulfill their ambitions.
"It's still hard to believe she was murdered. I have a feeling she knew someone was planning to hurt her. She fought for a better life and this is the price she had to pay," she said.
Arab MK Hanin Zoabi, who was in touch Abu Gannim, says that she was one of the victims of crime and violence against women in Arab society and the world at large.
"The brave Bissan was one of the helpless victims of the Arab society, who felt she had no tools to deal with the hard task of a criminal phenomenon that keeps expanding. It is the police's job to catch the criminals and make sure they don't get away with murder," said Zoabi.
Zoabi also stated that this is a case of "negligence by police, who know who is killing the Abu Gannam women but does nothing. Bissan is the third victim in her family and she was murdered by the same killers, some of whom walk the streets freely for everyone to see," she said.
"I repeat my call to the minister of public security and the state comptroller to investigate the police conduct in the subject of the Arab women killings. I intend to require the State Comptroller to conduct a thorough investigation of the matter," added Zoabi.
