Ra'am's Abbas proposes parliamentary investigation into surging crime in Arab sector

The governing coalition struck down in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday a proposal by Ra'am chairman MK Mansour Abbas to form a parliamentary committee of investigation into the government's treatment of the surging crime in the Israeli-Arab sector.

The request came after an especially violent few days that included murders of a man in Lod and a woman in the town of Jatt, as well as shootings in Haifa, Umm el-Fahm, and Jadeidi-Makr.

In his presentation of his demand in the plenum, Abbas accused the government of "abandoning the Arab society" to the whims of criminal gangs, which he called "criminal armies". Abbas argued that while community and religious leaders could treat family or local feuds, only the full force of the state could combat the growing organized crime. Abbas called on members of both the coalition and opposition to make an "ethical" statement and support the investigation.

Education Minister Yoav Kisch represented the government in the debate and read out a response given to him by National Security Minister MK Itamar Ben-Gvir. Kisch read out data of the police's efforts to curb the crime, and said that the effort "took time."   

The proposal fell in the ensuing vote, with 47 voting against it and 42 in favor.

High crime rates

In a letter to Knesset Speaker MK Amir Ohana (Likud) on Monday, in which Abbas first requested to bring the proposal to the Knesset floor, the leader of Ra'am wrote, "In the past decade, the Arab society in Israel is coping with a worrisome rise in the levels of violence and crime. The phenomenon influences many parts of life, causes loss of life, harms personal safety and deepens the economic and social gaps. In this situation, there is an acute need for significant intervention."

Parliamentary committees of investigation have limited statutory power, as the law gives the Knesset the authority to decide on the scope and means of its investigation, it does not have the power to subpoena individuals, and refusing to comply with the committee is not a crime.

The Labor party announced on Wednesday morning that it supported the demand. The party said in a statement, "The number of murder cases leaped disproportionally in the past year, as a result of a prime minister whose only interest is to remain in power, and a failing, incapable, and racist minister. The Arab citizens of Israel must know that the Israeli Knesset is acting to fix the ongoing government failure. Citizens of Israel, Jewish or Arab, deserve to live in safety," the party said.

Crime in general and homicides in particular began to rise steadily in the mid-2010s. Homicides peaked at 126 in 2021, but dipped to 116 in 2022 as a result of an inter-ministerial effort to combat it during the Lapid-Bennett government. However, in 2023, under National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, homicides skyrocketed to 244 – a rise of over 100%. The 2024 numbers