Palestine citizens of Israel call out Israeli forces 'complicity' in rising murder rates

Palestinian citizens of Israel have been protesting outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office against Israeli forces “complicity” in the increasing murder rates in the Arab towns.

According to the Middle East Eye, the protesters staged a demonstration for three days since Monday, calling out Israeli authorities for failing to control crime in Arab communities and urging them to solve the rising violence among the citizens.

Some 587 Palestinian citizens of Israel have been killed since January 2018 up to today, as a result of the rampant crime rate and police inaction.

The latest victim, Hisham Al-Atrash from Hura, died after being run over after a family argument yesterday evening.

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Mohammad Barakeh, a former MP and head of the High Follow-Up Committee, told Middle East Eye that the state is “complicit” in the “frightening increase in the size of crime gangs in the Palestinian society and victims are falling one after the other,” he said. “Israel is pretending as if the matter does not concern it.”

Moreover, Mohammad Lotfi, the father of Zahi Lotfi, who was killed in October in a crime-related shootout which involved the police, told Middle East Eye that the “fascist” Israeli government needs to do more.

He said, “We demand from the fascist Israeli government, which I don’t believe in, to fight crime in the Palestinian community.”

Israel Police data indicates that the number of deaths in the Arab community since the beginning of the year has more than doubled compared to the same period last year in 2022.

The site also reported that 95 per cent of murders were committed with firearms, and the Israeli police indicated that the number of Arab deaths up to 3 May 2023 was much greater than the number of deaths in the past two years on a monthly average.

Palestinian citizens of Israel face systematic discrimination and complain of being treated as second-class citizens in comparison to their Jewish counterparts. Numerous human rights groups decry Israeli policies against Arabs as a form of modern-day apartheid, with Arabs suffering racial discrimination in education, work and health care.

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