Bennett vows to fight Arab sector crime after deadly weekend

“On behalf of the Israeli government, I would like to offer my condolences to the families,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, addressing the Arab-Israeli victims who were killed over the weekend.

“Since the beginning of the year, dozens of people have been murdered in the Arab sector. The violence in the Arab sector is a coup that has been overlooked for many years. We have a responsibility to fight this. It is a national task.

Bennett added that he had agreed with Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev to formulate a plan to tackle crime in the Arab sector “as soon as possible”.

Bennett’s comments follow a murderous weekend in which four Arab Israelis were murdered in two separate incidents, prompting demands for the government to take action to tackle rising crime rates within the Arab-Israeli society.

“We will do it in all dimensions: civil, economic and of course criminal”, added the Prime Minister. “It is above all a strong will of the sector itself, and it is of course in the national interest in general.”

“Another heinous murder of a family in Arab society. Another shocking incident of violence. I promise that we will do all we can to fight it. We will budget accordingly. We will implement the plan to fight violence, ”said Deputy Prime Minister Yair Lapid. “I know that the Minister of Public Safety and his deputy see this as part of their main mission. The fight against violence is a national objective.

“Within days, five Arab citizens were killed, including three women, including a 16-year-old. These are incidents where the writing was on the wall: family disputes are known and recognized by the police, who failed to protect those involved, as happened yesterday, ”the organization Abraham said on Sunday. Initiatives.

“Instead of giving an appropriate response and prosecuting the criminals, families are forced to move to other locations and the blood cycle is only widening,” added the organization. “This is a systemic failure, both by the police and the state authorities, who for a long time did not promote a comprehensive government program to combat violence and crime in Arab society,” although it has been waiting for approval for about a year. . Every day that passes without the matter being brought before the government is a day when the personal safety of Arab citizens remains abandoned. “

The Special Committee for Arab Society, chaired by Ra’am (United Arab List) leader Mansour Abbas, will meet on Wednesday to discuss the effects of the coronavirus crisis on Arab-Israeli society, including a spike in domestic violence .

Jamil Azberga, a resident of Lod, was killed on Sunday after assailants shot at the truck he was driving in the city, according to Ynet. Salaman Azberga, Jamil’s father, was shot dead in Lod last December.