Top police officer says district ‘at war’ with ongoing Arab communal violence
Shimon Lavi says Arabs in north responsible for ‘99% of murders’; public security minister blames rising crime on lengthy ‘neglect of Arab communities’
The commanding officer of the Israel Police’s northern district said Thursday that the Arab community is “responsible for 99 percent of murders and shootings” in the north, as Arab communal violence has continued to spiral out of control.
Shimon Lavi, speaking at a conference on how to develop the Galilee, said that in northern Israel there are some 1.3 million citizens, of which half are Arab.
“That 50% are responsible for 99% of the murder incidents, 99% of the shooting incidents, 65% of the arson incidents, and 80% of the robbery incidents,” Lavi said according to the Haaretz daily. The figures could not be independently verified.