![Image of Israeli police officers patrolling Jerusalem's Shuafat district [Saeed Qaq/Apaimages /Apaimages]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2013_9_27-Israeli-policemen.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Fewer police officers work in the Arab areas of Israel compared to Jewish areas, a survey commissioned by Arab Member of the Knesset Hanin Zoabi has found.
According to the report, crime rates in the Arab areas were three times higher than those in the Jewish areas. Police numbers were also low in Arab areas, proportion to the population.
In the period between 2000 and 2016 an average of 79 Arab citizens was killed, compared to 43 Jewish citizens.
It was also found that 80 per cent of murdered Arab women had previously reported violence or threats to the police, double the percentage recorded for murdered Jewish women.
“It presents very hard statements against the police,” Zoabi said in response to the findings, calling for the police’s handling of serious crimes among Arab citizens to be investigated.
“It’s impossible to separate the issue of crime from the police’s treatment of Arab citizens. We see the results every week in murder in broad daylight. There is no way to change this situation without forcing the police to offer some honest accountability.”
Arabs make up 21 per cent of the general population in Israel.