Violence tore through Arab Israeli communities during the first weekend of September, when four people were murdered within 48 hours. In the central town of Tira, Mohammed Hajaj and his fiancé Rima Abu Gheit were shot dead while sitting in their car. In the coastal community of Jisr a-Zarka, Radad Faisal Radad was shot dead and three others were wounded. In the Galilee village of Raineh, Jonathan Nuesray was killed in an altercation between two local families. Only one of the four, Hajaj, was previously known to the police.

So far this year, 37 Arab Israelis have been murdered, and 70 were murdered last year. According to police data issued in June, 95% of all crime-related shooting incidents in Israel involve Arabs. Some 76% of those suspected of illegal weapons possession are Arabs; 55% of murder victims are Arabs, as are 57% of murder suspects. Arabs constitute 21% of Israel’s population.

According to a 2017 report by the government’s watchdog agency, the state comptroller, 1,236 Arab men and women lost their lives in the course of criminal activity between the years 2000 and 2017.

The reasons for this disparity undoubtedly stem from the socio-economic situation of Arab society in Israel and the government’s policies toward it. The problem has worsened since the 2000 riots in which 13 Arab protesters were shot to death by security forces — a crisis point in the relationship between police and the Arab minority.