Israel allows police to search Palestinian homes without court orders

Israeli parliament (Knesset) on Tuesday, December 15, 2021, passed a bill that would allow police officers to storm and search Palestinian homes and confiscate cameras without the need for court orders, local media reported.

The law’s goal is to combat crime in Arab society, and it will allow the police to search Arab buildings without a court order.

There is a fear that the police will exploit the law in the field of hiding evidence, Ha’aretz reported. Human rights advocates criticized the law, warning that it could harm Arab society.

In the same context, the Knesset’s Joint List – a political alliance of Arab-majority political parties in Israel – described the law as “dangerous,” adding that it “gives the Israeli police and army full powers to storm homes without a court warrant.”

It is reported that the law is being proposed under the cover of combating violence and crime, “so that Arab homes are permissible and their sanctity is violated, as the police and army see fit.”

The leaders of the Arab society in Israel accuse the police of being responsible for the spread of crime within the community and also for turning a blind eye to the complaints of the residents.