If US President Donald Trump’s grand statements of a plan to transfer 1.8 million Palestinians from the uninhabitable Gaza Strip hadn’t been said this week, public discourse would have focused much more than it had on a terrifying number: Seven.
Six Arab Israelis were killed in criminal violence incidents in the span of 24 hours between Sunday and Monday this week, with one more on Tuesday in what police suspect was a revenge hit.
Israel Police said last week that it was launching what it called a “large-scale” operation to combat crime in the sector; these seven deaths came one week later.
This is not to say police aren’t trying, but with 2023 and 2024 numbering the largest casualty count in the sector by far over the past nine years, it is either that what is being done isn’t enough or a more creative solution is required.
According to data from Israel’s Police compiled by the Abraham Initiatives on Arab sector deaths over the past nine years, in 2023, there were 244 deaths, with 230 in 2024.
In this calendar year so far, 30 people were killed in such circumstances, 23 from gunshots. At this time last year, there were 12 such casualties, and in 2015, there were 58. The Arab sector numbers about 2 million people.
Israel must lower its staggering crime rate
The past two years have not been restful by any means, and there are limited resources – but these numbers cannot continue to rise.
One of this week’s victims was Dr. Abdullah Awad, who was shot at a clinic in Kafr Yasif near Abu Snan – where three of the other victims were killed. As of the time of writing, there has been no apprehension of the killers, who shot Awad in front of his patients.
The health system shut down for two hours on Tuesday in a show of solidarity.
The Israel Medical Association said the murder “shocked us all, and follows five other Arab sector killings in 24 hours. It cannot be that a doctor performing his duties, at a place that is supposed to be safe, falls victim to such brutal, unstoppable violence.”
At a ceremony honoring him, and to demonstrate against the violence, Dr. Tsvi Sheleg, deputy director general of the Galilee Medical Center where Awad interned, said, “50 years ago, Dr. Gideon Manelis was murdered at the hospital as he examined a patient in the emergency room. 50 years have passed, and nothing has changed.” At the time, 6,000 physicians went on strike.
The Israel Democracy Institute presented research in November that showed that trust in police among Jewish Israelis is declining, after a spike to 59% after October 7.
It fell to 39%. Among Arab Israelis, it did not spike as high after October 7 but fell as well – to 25% – “less than half of what it was two decades ago,” said the IDI.
There are those who make the argument that gang violence is just a part of Arab culture. That argument falls apart in the face of a democratic state with a publicly funded police.
Something must be done
Anyone with eyes saw the drainage of power to Israel Police over the last two years. Casualty rates like these, or higher, are what await us if nothing is done.
Only 14.8% of cases were solved in 2024, out of 209 incidents.
Raed Daka, the mayor of Baka al-Gharbiya, wrote a recent op-ed where he highlighted the growing violence within Arab society in Israel as a “national crisis.” He argued that systemic neglect has enabled crime syndicates to thrive, leading to a surge in violent crime and creating a parallel economic system based on extortion and arms trafficking.
“The violent crime in Arab society has become a national epidemic that threatens governance, economy, and society as a whole,” Daka wrote.
“When the state decides that it truly cares, we will be there to support it,” he concluded, stressing that addressing this issue is not just about restoring security in Arab communities but is essential for strengthening governance and stability across Israel.
As things move in the international arena and Israelis continue to deal with the aftermath of the horrors of October 7, it is important not to take the eye off the goal of internal security; it will be very hard to fight for our defense without it.