After Five Killed in Shooting, Netanyahu Seeks to Involve Shin Bet in Tackling Arab Crime Wave

YERUSHALAYIM
Police at the scene where five people were shot dead in the Arab Town of Yafa an-Naseriyye, Thursday. (Fadi Amun/Flash90)

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he is “determined” to involve the Shin Bet in the struggle against organized violent crime in the Arab community, following the mass shooting in Yafa an-Naseriyye in which five people were killed.

“I am horrified by the terrible murder near Nazareth,” the Prime Minister said in a statement. “We are determined to stop this string of murders. We will do so not only by boosting police [forces], but also with the help of the Shin Bet. I am determined to involve the Shin Bet in aiding the Israel Police against these criminals, against the crime organizations.”

Netanyahu said he has held meetings on the matter this week with defense, legal and police officials, “and I intend to continue next week and achieve a quick result.”

Deadly incidents of criminal violence and specifically of gun violence in Arab communities across Israel are well above the national average.

The incident came just hours after a separate shooting in another Nazareth suburb that critically injured a three-year-old girl and a 30-year-old man, according to Israeli emergency services.

According to the Abraham Initiatives, an organization tracking rising violence in Arab communities, 97 Arabs have been killed due to criminal violence in 2023. Among the 97, 86 were shot to death and 42 were under the age of 30.

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