Palestinian Citizens in Israel Demand Action Amid Soaring Gang Violence
Protests and strikes are sweeping across Israel as the country's Palestinian citizens confront record levels of gang violence and organised crime. The escalating crisis has sparked widespread outrage, with communities demanding urgent security measures and accusing authorities of systemic neglect and discriminatory policing practices.
A Community Under Siege
The human cost of this violence was tragically illustrated by the killing of 15-year-old Nabil Safiya, who was shot dead while sitting in a car outside a pizza parlour in Kafr Yasif. Police later described the shooting as a case of mistaken identity, but for his father Ashraf Safiya, it represented the terrifying randomness that now defines daily life. "There is no set time for the gunfire anymore," he said. "They can kill you in school, they can kill you in the street, they can kill you in the football stadium."
This incident is not isolated. According to data from the Abraham Initiatives, an Israeli NGO promoting coexistence, a record 252 Palestinian citizens were killed in Israel last year, with at least 26 additional crime-related killings occurring in January alone. The rate of crime-related killings among Palestinian citizens is more than 22 times higher than that for Jewish Israelis, while arrest and indictment rates for these crimes remain significantly lower.
Systemic Failures and Growing Anger
Critics point to these stark disparities as evidence of entrenched discrimination and institutional neglect. "There's a law for the Jewish society and a different law for Palestinian society," said Ghassan Munayyer, a political activist from Lod, a mixed city with a substantial Palestinian population. This sentiment is echoed by Knesset member Aida Touma-Suleiman, who described policing in Palestinian communities as "collective punishment," noting that responses differ dramatically when Jewish citizens become victims of violence.
The violence has fundamentally altered daily life in many Palestinian communities. In towns like Kafr Yasif, with a population of 10,000, streets empty by nightfall as residents retreat indoors, often hearing gunshots echo through their neighbourhoods as they try to sleep. The economic and social fabric of these communities has been severely damaged by what experts describe as an epidemic of organised crime.
Organised Crime's Grip
Walid Haddad, a criminologist at Ono Academic College and former official in Israel's national security ministry, explained how organised crime thrives in these environments. "Organised crime thrives off weapons trafficking and loan-sharking in places where people lack access to credit," he said. Gangs systematically extort residents and business owners for "protection" money, creating a climate of fear and economic exploitation.
Based on interviews with gang members in prisons and courts, Haddad revealed that criminal activities can earn perpetrators anywhere from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on whether the job involves torching cars, shooting at buildings, or assassinating rival leaders. "If they fire at homes or people once or twice a month, they can buy cars, go on trips. It's easy money," he noted, highlighting a pervasive sense of impunity that enables this violence to continue unchecked.
Protest and Political Response
The killings have become a rallying cry for Palestinian-led political parties and activists, with successive governments failing to deliver on promises to curb the bloodshed. Thousands marched in Tel Aviv recently to demand action, while Arab communities have organised strikes, closing shops and schools in protest. After Nabil Safiya's killing, residents marched through Kafr Yasif's streets, students boycotted classes, and the Safiya family transformed their home into a shrine with pictures and posters honouring their son.
Lama Yassin, director of shared cities and regions at the Abraham Initiatives, observed a significant shift in community attitudes toward policing. While strained relations with police long discouraged Palestinian citizens from requesting more police presence, desperation has changed this dynamic. "In recent years, because people are so depressed and feel like they're not able to practice day-to-day life ... Arabs are saying, 'Do whatever it takes, even if it means more police in our towns,'" Yassin explained.
Accountability Gap
The statistics reveal a profound accountability gap. Last year, only 8% of killings of Palestinian citizens led to charges filed against suspects, compared with 55% in Jewish communities. Israeli police reject allegations of skewed priorities, stating that killings in these communities are a top priority, but investigations face challenges because witnesses don't always cooperate. "Investigative decisions are guided by evidence, operational considerations, and due process, not by indifference or lack of prioritization," police said in a statement.
However, many communities feel impunity has worsened under National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has launched aggressive campaigns against other crimes while Palestinian communities continue to suffer. "The only side that can be able to smash a mafia is the state and the state is doing nothing except letting organised crime understand that they are free to do whatever they want," said Touma-Suleiman.
Unanswered Demands for Justice
In Kafr Yasif, Ashraf Safiya vowed his son wouldn't become just another statistic. "The idea was that the blood of this boy would not be wasted," he said of protests he helped organise. "If people stop caring about these cases, we're going to just have another case and another case." Authorities recently indicated they were preparing to file an indictment against a 23-year-old arrested in connection with the shooting, describing Nabil as a victim of "blood feuds within Arab society."
Yet protests continue to face resistance. At a late January demonstration in Kafr Yasif, where marchers carried portraits of Nabil and another local victim named Nidal Mosaedah, police broke up the protest, saying it lasted longer than authorised, and arrested its leaders including the former head of the town council. Residents noted that while this show of force may have quashed one protest, it did nothing to halt the killings that continue to devastate their communities.
