Special committee to address alarming crime rates in Arab society
Recent efforts of drafting an adjustable and comprehensive outline for dealing with the situation have failed.
By TOBIAS SIEGALJoint List MK Mansour Abbas alongside Blue and White leader Benny Gantz on Holocaust Remembrance Day, 2020(photo credit: KNESSET SPOKESWOMAN - ADINA WALLMAN)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Wednesday his participation in a meeting of the Special Committee on Eradicating Crime in Arab Society headed by MK Mansour Abbas (Joint List) planned to take place on November 9.The committee will discuss promoting government plans for eradicating crime and violence in the Arab society, in light of increasing crime rates in the Arab sector that continued to rise during 2020.Recent efforts to draft an adjustable and comprehensive outline for dealing with the situation have failed. These include those taken by the special committee headed by Abbas, as well as by the special team of ministerial directors-general, established in November 2019 by Netanyahu, with the purpose of coming up with an effective plan to combat the phenomenon of violence in the Arab sector.Next week's meeting will aim to achieve breakthroughs by deciding on practical initiatives to reverse the situation. Abbas has said that he expects Netanyahu to direct the team of ministerial directors-general to work together with the special committee and with the chairman of the Arab Local Authorities Committee to consolidate a final plan that can be approved by the government.During a meeting of the Special Committee on Eradicating Crime in Arab Society in June, Abbas defined the problematic nature in addressing the challenge.“The conflicts (in Arab society) are not only between crime organizations, they can also be between two families. Social violence and organized crime are trampling the personal security of the country's Arab citizens, which has been neglected for years in order to save the State Treasury money," Abbas said at the time.Last week, the government announced that it will continue supporting the 922 plan that is expected to have dramatic effects on the Arab society in Israel. According to the plan, extended for another year, the state will invest NIS 4.7 billion in the Arab sector. The budget will be directed towards developing new infrastructure and improving existing infrastructure, as well as increasing the sector's education budget.
