MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) broke the far-right government’s declared boycott and met on Thursday, July 9, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the organization’s headquarters in New York. During the meeting, Odeh presented a comprehensive report detailing the abandonment of the Arab-Palestinian national minority in Israel to criminal organizations and the relentless wave of homicides. Following the encounter, Odeh stated, “We will leave no stone unturned in the battle against crime and murder,” while Guterres responded, “We will demand answers from the Israeli government.”
MK Ayman Odeh presented UN Secretary-General Guterres a comprehensive report on crime and murder in Arab community in Israel, Thursday, July 9, 2026 (Photo: Zo Haderekh)
The detailed report submitted by Odeh was compiled by the Elaf Association (The Center for the Promotion of Personal Security in Arab Society). It outlines the severity of the situation, the ongoing surge in murders, and the right-wing government’s failure to combat organized crime and ensure the personal safety of Arab citizens.
During the meeting, Odeh emphasized that the systemic crime plaguing Arab community is not fate, but rather the direct consequence of ongoing state neglect and abandonment. He asserted that while the government possesses all the necessary tools to eradicate organized crime, it actively abandons the Arab society, leaving hundreds of citizens to pay with their lives.
“After demonstrating, blocking roads, going on hunger strikes, meeting with prime ministers and cabinet ministers, demanding action and crying out—the time has come to present this harsh reality to the international community,” Odeh said. “When our children are being murdered, when fear rules our streets, and when Arab citizens cannot live in security, we will leave no stone unturned. Our blood is not cheap.”
For his part, Guterres noted that the scale of crime within Arab society is deeply alarming. He affirmed that the United Nations would continue to monitor the situation closely, demand comprehensive data and answers from the Israeli government, and scrutinize the actual measures being implemented to address the crisis.
A few weeks ago, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, announced a “freezing of relations” with the UN Secretary-General. This followed Guterres’s decision to include Israeli entities on a blacklist regarding sexual violence in conflict zones. Danon declared at the time, “We are done with this Secretary-General,” stating that no ties would be maintained with the Secretary-General’s office as long as Guterres heads the organization.
The Thursday’s meeting follows a prior encounter in September of last year, when the Hadash-Ta’al chairman previously met with the UN chief at the organization’s headquarters. During that meeting, MK Odeh raised the urgent need to end the war and massacre in Gaza, address the creeping annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank, curb deadly settler violence against Palestinian residents, and confront the ongoing crisis in Israel’s Arab society driven by surging crime.
Following that meeting, MK Odeh stated, “I met with UN Secretary-General Guterres. I thanked him for his principled stances during this difficult time and made it clear that the war of destruction in Gaza must be ended through a comprehensive deal. I emphasized that there is no solution other than ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel. It is the duty of the international community to recognize this right, and the UN plays a pivotal role in correcting this historical injustice.” He stressed, “There is no other way but the path of peace and justice.”
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=30736
