According to Israel police, seven organized criminal groups are active in the Arab community RAMALLAH: One million-half Palestinian citizens living in Israel suffer the danger of violence and crime carried out by organized crime gangs that killed 104 people in 2022, a rate far exceeding that of Israel overall and the Gaza Strip and West Bank, amid the remarkable inability and failure of the Israeli police to fight them, as they did with similar gangs that originated in the Jewish community, Israeli-Arab sources confirmed to Arab News. Several motives cause violence and crime within the Palestinian community in Israel, as the Israeli banks do not give loans to those who do not possess construction licenses from the Israeli authorities; instead, they take loans from the black market or criminal gangs and families, and when they do not repay the money in time, they are targeted with aggression, including shootings, targeting them, their homes, and commercial interests. The sums of money involved mean that it is tempting for young people between 16-18 years to be involved because it offers a quick payment, as cash flows also extend to arms trafficking, which is very profitable, as the price of a pistol ranges between $3,086–$6,173, while the M-16 assault rifle costs $21,605, which constitutes a good business for young people, noteworthy that the weapons of crime are stolen from the warehouses of the Israeli army. Most of those arrested by the Israeli police right now and prosecuted are likely to be the ‘contractors’ who carry out the crimes, but not the organized criminal groups’ leadership or those who paid for the crimes, Israeli-Arab sources told Arab News. According to Israel police, seven organized criminal groups are active in the Arab community; some of their members worked as ‘contractors’ for Jewish organized criminal groups before many of the latter were dismantled by 2016, whereas the Arab crime gangs filled the vacuum and entered the Israeli space, with tens of thousands of weapons in the hands. Meanwhile, the mistrust of the Israel police among the Palestinian community in Israel is a crucial obstacle to tackling organized crime in that community; they often believe the Israel Police does not adequately tackle crime in Arab areas, while the police blame them for the shortage of cooperation with police in crime-fighting in their community. Still, the Arabs say that if they report the criminals, they will take revenge against them, and the police will not provide them with any protection. They say that the police confiscate weapons and do not arrest suspects; if they capture a few of them, they do not bring suspected criminals to trial. From their side, the Israeli police claim they need evidence to prosecute suspects, which is difficult due to a shortage of police personnel, budgets, or sufficient technology like that’s available to the Shin Bet to fight them. Therefore, there have been calls to involve the Shin Bet to help the police, but there is a strong reservation about the Shin Bet interfering in civil affairs. Jalal Bana, a strategic expert from Kufr Yasif in Galilee, told Arab News that the widespread poverty in Arab society is a factor in the spread of crime and many young men joining criminal gangs, as 55 percent of young men under 18 are classified as poor. Not once can the violence end by arresting the perpetrators of the crime, nor by arming the police or giving them the power to shoot suspects. Bana says that the Israeli police are trying to combat crime, but they are insufficient. “It is impossible to eradicate the crime that has been rampant for many years within a year or two,” Bana assures Arab News. “The Israeli police began to fight crime in the Arab community when it became a strategic threat against the Jewish community through its transfer to it.” He points out to us that the Israeli police can significantly reduce crime if it wanted, as it succeeded between the years 1999-2001 in eliminating organized crime gangs in The Jewish community was wholly eradicated. Arab-Israeli sources told Arab News that a number of those involved in committing crimes against Arabs have fled to Turkey and the UAE for fear of arrest. Bana describes the state of fear spread among Arab citizens in Israel as a result of the spread of violence and crime, saying that it is “a very terrifying and frightening situation, with the trade in arms and drugs, extortion of business interests, and forcing mayors to award bids and tenders to a group and followers of organized criminal gangs.” Mahmoud Khatib, a writer and lecturer from the village of Kafr Kanna in Galilee, told Arab News that as long as the death toll in the year exceeds 100, this means that the police measures have failed to combat crime. Will mean their release after a short time Khatib added that it is required to intensify the efforts of the police to fight crime, enact deterrent laws for those involved in violence and crime, and promote the religious and national values of the Arab community in Israel. “The loss of safety and security saddens us more than the number of people killed by crime, and there are one and a half million Arabs who do not live in safety, but rather in a constant state of fear and terror.” Despite the Israeli PM and Public Security Minister’s pledge to crack down on violence and illegal weapons and dedication of vast amounts of money and set plans to combat organized crime and to establish police stations, including a new police department for combating organized criminal groups among Palestinian community in Israel, the violence and crime continue. Israeli police have established a particular unit called ‘Saif’ (Sword) unique to tackle violence and crime within the Palestinian community in Israel. The Israeli police, which operates 32,000 personnel for 9 million citizens, including 1.5 million Palestinian citizens, seeks to recruit more than 5,000 personnel and to request more budget and technologies to enable them to handle the most significant challenge; the crime and violence in the Arab community in Israel, moreover it has decided to fight crime and violence economically as the Shin Bet does against Hamas in the West Bank, where they can confiscate their money, vehicles, money at their bank account. However, there is hope that the police will intensify their work against crime in the Arab community in Israel because they have been moving recently to Jewish towns adjacent to Arab villages, an issue the police cannot tolerate with its existence. Violence and organized crime in the Arab community in Israel are continuing despite what was said about their decline. Moreover, the danger of these gangs increased significantly with their adoption of car bombs, which increased the citizens’ fear and anxiety, considered the most dangerous method carried out by organized crime gangs since the emergence of crime within the Arab community until now. Meanwhile, the designated Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would fight the violence and crimes in the Arab community in Israel decisively. Still, for the Israeli Arabs, he would not change “Ben-Gvir presents problems, not solutions, because all his answers are based on violence” Bana confirmed to Arab News. In another context, the far-right Israeli MP, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said that he stipulated changing the status quo in Al-Aqsa Mosque and allowing Jews to pray in the sanctuary to join the new government coalition. It is noteworthy that Jewish prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque is practically prohibited. Still, the Israeli police allow silent prayers to be held in the upper part of the Haram, away from Al-Qibli Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the head of the Hight Supreme Islamic Commission, Ekrma Sabri, told Arab News, “We are always alert to any surprise that Ben-Gvir or other insane people may commit, and we affirm our legitimate right as Muslims to pray alone in Al-Aqsa Mosque, and we consider Ben-Gvir’s statements an aggression against Muslims.” Sabri stressed, “We will prevent Jews from praying in Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards under all circumstances and at whatever cost, and we will not allow the tragedy of the division of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron temporally and spatially, between Muslims and Jews to be repeated.”