The State Control Committee, chaired by MK Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid), convened on Tuesday, February 13, to discuss the cutback in the budget of the plan to combat crime in the Arab sector, following the publication of the State Comptroller’s report on the Israel Police’s handling of crime in Arab society.
A demonstration in Nazareth against crime (Photo: Abraham Initiatives)
“In previous debates we heard the Commissioner of the Israel Police saying that he views the war on the surging crime in the sector as the number one goal, and now we have all been updated that its budget has been cut, so these two things are incompatible,” said MK Levy. “If we will not put the pedal to the metal with regards to the Government’s foot-dragging on this issue, we will meet here again in a few months, but with bad results. We will wage a tenacious battle in the Finance Ministry to increase the budget and prevent the cutback.” He said the plans for combatting crime in the Arab community were not being implemented, adding “tThe Prime Minister is responsible for the dismal results, and for the crime in Arab society.”
MK Yoav Segalovitz (Yesh Atid), who was in charge of the matter during his tenure as Deputy Minister of Public Security, said “You cannot deal with the crime when there is no communication with the leadership of the Arab society, and this is what is happening now with the current minister. Since the government’s establishment, nothing has been done, apart from cancelling professional work. The result is a 130% increase in murders in the Arab community, which is ranked third in the world, after Colombia. People are afraid to leave their homes. I know for a fact that Arabs with high socioeconomic standing are leaving their localities. If the state will not act, the price will be too high, for all of us.”
According MK Ahmad Tibi (Hadash-Ta’al), “Firearms are being smuggled from military bases. How are they not able to cut off the smuggling route? Millions of bullets are being transferred from locality to locality. They can bomb a weapons-laden truck in Sudan, yet they can’t thwart this? This issue has been on the table for 15 years, and it has yet to be resolved. There is self-manufacturing and smuggling from the West Bank, and this is not being dealt with. There is a flooding of firearms in the Arab society. Every high schooler in the sector can obtain one if he wants to, and indeed, students come to school with firearms. A government has to care for its citizens, even if they are from the opposition and even if they are Arabs.”
MK Aida Touma Sliman (Hadash-Ta’al) said, “The Government doesn’t want to do anything for the Arab-Palestinians citizens. The plans have been frozen and the ministries are not dealing with the issue.” MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash-Ta’al) added, “The matter is simple – some have said it openly, and some have said it secretly, but they all want to say that there is something about Arab culture that is related to crime. They view us as a backyard. If an Arab is murdered there, the police are not as interested. We are obviously transparent, because of structural racism and discrimination.”
Roi Kahlon, head of the Bureau for Combating Crime and Violence in Arab Society in the Prime Minister’s Office, said “Crime organizations have taken over and have become the legal [authority] in the sector, and everyone knows what will happen if a dispute is brought before a state court. They are the law enforcement agencies for implementing arbitration rulings, they run a protection racket and collect protection fees. The situation is bad. When the discussion about the budget began, I published a letter in which I expressed my opposition to a budget cut in the Israel Police and the cancellation of permanent positions within the force.”
Mudar Younis, head of the National Council of Arab Mayors, said “The Arab local authorities are weakened, and are ranked in [socio-economic clusters] 1-3. We have no income from employment, only from property tax, and not everyone pays, because there are many exemptions and discounts. Such authorities are given balancing grants. We fought for a long time for the NIS 200 million, which we received at the end of 2023. The lack of security and fear that exist in Arab society are the symptoms.” “The state,” he said, “is apprehensive about allocating budgets for fear that they will reach organized crime, but organized crime does not participate in the major tenders of the local authorities.”
According to the NGO Abraham Initiatives, “Crime and violence in the Arab society affects the life of every Arab citizen in Israel. 2023 was the bloodiest year in Israel’s history in terms of crime and violence in Arab society: 244 Arab citizens lost their lives under circumstances of crime and violence. That’s more than double that in the previous year.”
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=31598
