In the wake of several high-profile Arab sector murders and political assassinations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers are set to convene a subcommittee dedicated to fighting the surging problem and the Shin Bet announced that it would be participating in an investigation on Wednesday.
Netanyahu will chair the subcommittee, and the 4 p.m. meeting will be attended by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Economy Minister Nir Barkat, and Diaspora Minster Amichai Chikli.
The meeting comes after the murder of a local council political candidate in Abu Snan on Tuesday night and a Tira civil servant’s assassination on Monday evening. The Shin Bet announced on Wednesday that it would be taking part in the investigation of Tuesday’s murder. Netanyahu said on Tuesday in response to the Tira killing that the Shin Bet would be employed against the crimes.
The victims of Tuesday’s shooting
Four Druze men were shot dead late Tuesday night in Abu Snan, three of them members of the Saab family. Emergency services said that the men suffered serious wounds and they were forced to pronounce the men aged 30-50 dead at the scene.
Victim Ghazi Saab wrote on Facebook on August 2 saying that he was running for president of his local council, and that he would work to better the country. Saab also denounced the rise of violent crime in the Arab sector on July 24, calling on people to solve problems through means other than violence.
Israeli minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir at the National Security offices in Jerusalem June 15, 2023. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)“The crime and acts of violence in our villages have exceeded all limits and we can no longer remain silent about them,” Saab wrote. “Enough of the violence…we are very saddened by what is happening in our beloved country.”
Israeli Qadi Skeikh Mowafaq Tarif described the crime as a massacre and terrorism and demanded that the government take action.
“The state and the police turn a blind eye to the rampant criminal terrorism,” said Tariq. “The government must take ownership immediately and present an emergency plan to the public.”
The Hadash-Ta’al party said that the government was responsible for every drop of blood spilled, saying it was deliberately dismantling the Arab community through inaction. The Arab party reminded that in the last eight months, over 150 people had been murdered in the Arab sector, a significant rise from the 106 slain in all of 2022.
On Monday evening, Tira municipality director-general Abed Al-Rahman Kashu was murdered in a shooting. Two other men were injured in the attack.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Kashu’s killing crossed a red line.
“These murders, the criminal organizations, the protection rackets, taking over municipalities, this is something we cannot afford,” said Netanyahu.
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