The persistent and escalating rate of crime and violence remains a top-most concern for Arab society in Israel. As of December 2024, the toll on Arab lives stands at 230 individuals, and many more have been injured or impacted in some way. A small and interconnected community, this reality is casting a shadow of fear and insecurity over Arab citizens, and more recently, across all Israel.
The Abraham Initiatives 2024 annual report highlights the ongoing crisis of violence in Arab communities, underscoring the failure to adequately address the rising number of victims and the low rate of case resolutions. In 2024, only 31 out of 209 cases (14.8%) were solved, in line with resolution rates in recent years (24 cases in 2022 and 32 in 2023). This low resolution rate erodes trust in law enforcement and further contributes to a feeling of insecurity.
The report also notes an increase in the number of female victims, with 20 Arab women killed in 2024. Some of these women were victims of domestic violence, while others were caught in the crossfire of criminal disputes.
The report also highlights a rise in violent incidents, such as car bombings and mass shootings, including the tragic deaths of four Arab citizens in Ramle in September. Gun violence remains a critical issue, with 84.7% of the 230 victims this year killed by shootings, indicating the widespread availability of firearms.
On January 05, the Special Committee for the Rights of the Child held a discussion on the ramifications of possession of illegal weapons on children in Arab society. There the presentation, Committee Chair MK Dallal called, “The phenomenon of illegal weapons poses a significant and immediate threat to the children’s safety and wellbeing, and has a negative effect on their physical and mental development. This is an intolerable reality, which requires our immediate and full attention. <…> The inability to enforce the law sends a dangerous message to our children—a message of anarchy, of systemic helplessness. Additionally, we have witnessed a worrying trend of the involvement of young people, aged 15 to 18, in weapons and shooting offenses.”
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