The outcry of the Arab leadership at both the local and national levels stems from fear. Heads of Arab Israeli local authorities and Arab Knesset members have realized that they have lost control of the public. They know that the people who own luxury cars and fancy homes have become role models for the younger generation. They are now crying out for help.
But they've forgotten to tell us that some of the rampant crime in the Arab sector hasn't been strictly criminal for a long time, and that at any moment it could slide into terrorist activity. They refuse to acknowledge their failure of leadership, which all these years has focused on the Palestinians' right to create a state at the expense of Israel. Now they are looking for someone to rescue them from this dire situation.
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For nearly five years, I served as head of a committee appointed by the government to manage a local council in a Bedouin village with a strong a history of cooperating with Israel to strengthen the country's northern border. That history has been forgotten in the heat of mafia-like protection schemes, clan infighting, and flare-ups of violence.
When I managed to make some changes to the way of life and school system in the area, the government chose to go back to its bad habits and allow petty politics to overtake the residents' right to live life with dignity. Instead of allowing the appointed committee to continue its work, the government chose to have an election there, which restored the status quo.
I've seen the Israel Police's futile attempts to fight armed criminals. That is what happens when the executive and judiciary branches do not prevent the theft of weapons and ammunition or eliminate the protection system that brings entire fortunes into the hands of criminals that were thieves yesterday, but might be terrorists tomorrow.
This threat can still be prevented, but it needs to be treated as an ongoing one. We can't conduct an operation, then leave. To eliminate this internal threat, the police, led by the new commissioner, must establish a task force similar to the Border Guards, one that has authority and military skills, and address this issue before it comes back to hit us and our property.
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