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Analysts say that after years of neglect by the Israeli authorities, the wave of deadly crimes sweeping the Palestinian communities in Israel must be urgently addressed.
Until now, the Israeli government has neglected the Palestinian sector. For example, almost no police station has been set up in villages and towns dominated by Palestinians. The financial bottleneck of the police force is often cited as an excuse. The result is illegal weapons, gangs and extremely high crime rates.
Ian Lustick, a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, told Al Jazeera that violence is an extremely serious problem.
He said: “Murders are rampant, systematic investigations have failed, and arrests and convictions of perpetrators are extremely rare.”
Although the Israeli police solve Of the 71% of murders in the Jewish community, only 23% were resolved in Palestine.
The Palestinian community, which accounts for one-fifth of the total population, is the victim of a murder rate that is twice as high as that faced by Jewish Israelis.
according to Statistical data, A Palestinian between 17 and 24 is 21 times more likely to be shot dead than a Jew in the same age group. For Palestinians over 25, the risk is 36 times that of Jewish Israelis.
Yanif Waller, a senior lecturer in Middle East politics at the University of Kent, said that the issue of violence in Palestinian society was a long-standing issue 12 years before the former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in power.
“And all governments ignored it, mainly because of dealing with Arab violence [Palestinian] Society needs a lot of resources, but it also creates another possibility for conflicts between the authorities and Arab citizens,” Waller told Al Jazeera.
“Although Arab leaders often call on the government to solve this problem, they are not keen on cooperating with the authorities, especially the police.”
Therefore, 2020 is a record year, with 96 Palestinian citizens in Israel Be killed.
However, 2021 has shattered the previous benchmark. Since the beginning of this year, about 100 Palestinians have been murdered, usually as part of a gang war.
Lustick said that one of the problems is that the Israeli authorities regard violence in the Palestinian area as a security issue. This is a Shin Bet intelligence service, not the police.
“Just as all public services in the Arab sector-education, sewage treatment, entertainment, infrastructure, housing, etc.-are under-supplied-so is the police service,” he said.
However, the problem is not only a lack of resources and neglect, but also “the most fundamental thing is the isolation of Israeli society and the exclusion of Arabs from the real concerns of most government agencies and most Israeli Jews,” Lustik pointed out.
“The most important thing, but related to it, is the confiscation of a large amount of land from Palestinians and Palestinian villages and the refusal to approve the building master plan. These situations can lead to serious overcrowding between families and clans due to tiny properties. And very high risk.
“Add in the thousands of unprosecuted collaborators and informants, and the weapons they and competing gangs and clans can obtain, and you have the secret of the bloodshed we witnessed,” he added.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that a new plan to combat crime in Palestinian communities is being implemented.
Bennett said in a statement earlier this month: “My government is determined to take action to combat crime and violence in the Arab region with all its strength, and to engage in a continuous, sustained and protracted struggle.”
Waller warned that calling for the involvement of Shin Bet, an Israeli domestic security agency that mainly operates in the West Bank, to resolve the issue “may not be very helpful.”
“The most straightforward solution is to invest more money in crime prevention programs, strengthen the police and try to collect weapons, which is common in Arab society. However, if trust between the authorities and Arab society is not established, the plan will There is no long-term success. Without the cooperation between the public and the authorities in law enforcement or education, there can be no solutions,” he said.
What can help is that the new Israeli government has a common interest in resolving this issue.
“All the components of the coalition are eager to solve this problem. This includes right-wingers, who understand that violence in Arab society is not limited to Arab villages and towns. The main difference lies in the method. Right-wingers promote at the expense of other measures. More use of law enforcement agencies, including Shabak and police,” Waller pointed out.
One of the members of these coalitions is the Ra’am, which is committed to safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian minority.
“Ra’am is the key to trying to solve the problem of violent crime in Arab society. Joining the alliance through negotiations, it has designated a budget, and its leadership has expressed voice support for government intervention,” Waller pointed out.
However, Ra’am alone cannot bring about change. This requires enhanced cooperation with the local Palestinian authorities, and many people do not support Ra’am, Voller said.
It may also be problematic that the police, like the military, symbolizes the state power of Zionism, and many Palestinians are unwilling to approve of this power for political and racial reasons.
“At present, the trust between the two parties is very low. However, the fact is that Arab citizens and political leaders are protesting against the government’s inaction, which means that they still have some expectations and hope that the situation can change. It is here that rebuilding trust During the process, Ra’am can enter the screen,” Voller said.
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