Israel advances controversial legislation to battle crime in Arab society

Israel’s Cabinet approved Oct. 17 a bill to expand the power of Israeli police, as part of its efforts to stop the worsening epidemic of crime in the Arab sector. The approved law amendment would allow police to carry out house searches without a prior court warrant, when there is reasonable cause to believe that an object tied to a serious crime could be found on private premises.

Included in the crimes for which such a search could be conducted are extortion and crimes involving weapons. According to the amendment, warrantless searches would be allowed when such a search is deemed immediately necessary to prevent the object under question from disappearing or being destroyed. The law would remain in place for three years.

The decision to approve the amendment was preceded by a heated Cabinet debate. Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg said that the proposal was a very unusual step for a democracy. Justice Minister Gideon Saar, who advanced this proposal, responded, “There are already exceptional cases in which searches are conducted without warrants.” Zandberg insisted, arguing that this was not necessarily the problem. “Let’s try to do things differently before resorting to such exceptional legislation. Furthermore, will this infringement of individual rights be limited? The general feeling among civilians is that this new law is being imposed on them rather than targeting organized crime,” she said.

This did not stop Saar, who responded by saying, “We are at war, in case you don’t realize it. We need to provide law enforcement and the police with better tools so that they can carry out their mission successfully. The right to stay alive is also a human right.” As if that was not enough, he continued, “I am telling you now that I plan to introduce further legislation to ensure that we succeed in our campaign against crime in the Arab sector.”