Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) declares that the Israeli government is deliberately undermining the social fabric of Arab society in ‘48 Palestine, by ignoring the proliferation of armed, criminal gangs, and not properly investigating the resultant, systematic killings.
AOHR UK adds that the proliferation of arms amongst Arab society is a long-term issue, one that takes place with the knowledge of the security services, including of the murders committed – one that they ignore, since the killings harm the social fabric of Arab society and distract from the national issue.
This issue became only clearer after the calling of the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian factions, after which the same pattern of killings resumed – over the last three days three people were killed, bringing the death toll this year to 38 people.
According to statistics, in 2020, 100 people were killed, and in 2019, 94 – and this is in addition to dozens of casualties amongst those who survived the attempted killings, into which the security opens only a small number of investigations, despite the amount of evidence against the likely perpetrators.
These killings and police negligence towards them was the cause of numerous protests from the Arab community, protests which reached a new level after settlers’ and security forces’ attacks against the al-Aqsa mosque.
Following the ceasefire, there has been a wave of revenge arrests against Arab citizens, a campaign that has so far affected 100s of Palestinians – whilst those behind the criminal gangs, the arms dealing, the killings were left alone by the security forces.
AOHR UK, therefore, demands of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel (HFC) to take security measures, separate from those of the official institutions, to end these criminal killings, and begin an active campaign against the spread of firearms with a trained, popular force, as aided by legal and social-scientific experts.
The international community is also called upon to protect the Arab community in Israel, to provide support to the HFC, and to demand an end to the Israeli authorities’ negligence in regards providing the Arab community with peace and security.
