Jerusalem: Amid a high-record murder rate in Israel’s Palestinian society, dozens of Palestinians demonstrated in Jerusalem outside the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Protestors denounced the Israeli police and authorities for turning a blind eye towards the rising crime.
The three-day protest began on May 29. It was organised by former Israeli Arab politician, Mohammed Barakeh. A large tent was erected where the protestors conducted a sit-in demonstration. Around 50 incumbents and former members of parliament including municipal representatives also joined them.
“The police are complicit in the crimes,” read a poster written in English, Arabic and Hebrew, inside the tent.
Barakeh accused the Israeli authorities allow the violence to happen in Arab societies in order to keep Arab citizens distracted from campaigning for the political and civil rights of Palestinians in Isreal and the occupied territories.
“We believe that Israel is complicit with criminal gangs aiming to exhaust, drain and preoccupy the Arab community with the issue of personal security,” said Barakeh as quoted by Middle East Eye.
These gangs have reportedly killed six women and two children among 78 Israelis Palestinian citizens since the beginning of 2023.
According to the NGO Abraham Initiatives, 116 fatalities were recorded in 2022.
Discrimination against Arab minorities of Israel
Millions of Palestinian citizens were killed or displaced during the formation of Israel in 1948. Some of the chose to become citizens of Israel.
As per Abraham Initiatives, 50 percent of violent crime in the country affects Palestinians even though they constitute 20 percent of Israel’s total population.
The NGO reports rampant crime involving drugs and arms trade, and prostitution to name a few frequently occurring in these Palestinian societies.
The Arab minorities have directly accused Israeli police of deliberately turning a blind eye towards the illegal smuggling of arms.
Though Israeli police officials have denied being an ally of criminal gangs their claims were contradicted by a report from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that states only two cases out of 42 reported in April have been solved so far.
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