June 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered the national security agency, the Shin Bet, to investigate the increase in violence in recent weeks in the country’s Arab community, which he blames on “criminal gangs” despite of the reluctance of the institution when it comes to addressing a crisis for which it does not have the necessary tools.
The wave of violence has claimed the lives of 102 Arabs in Israel so far this year, well above the 35 deaths recorded at this point last year, after two more were killed tonight in Qalansawe and Jaljulia, both under investigation. , and the death of five other people on Thursday in Jafa an Naseriyye, one of the worst recent episodes in memory in the Arab-Israeli community.
Netanyahu has described this violence as a “national calamity” for which he has blamed “criminal organizations that are embittering the lives of Israel’s Arab citizens.”
“We are ready to combat this criminal trend, beginning above all with the head of the serpent, the criminal organizations,” he added at the beginning of the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers.
However, Shin Bet sources have explained to the ‘Times of Israel’ that a large part of the security agency is opposed to participating in the fight against these gangs because, they recall, it is specifically aimed at combating violence derived from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. , a situation that does not exactly apply to organized crime.
