Palestinians in Israel decide on a three-day comprehensive strike in protest of the occupation's complicity with crime gangs

The High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens, in light of the escalating murder rates and the Israeli government's complicity with crime gangs, decided to begin preparations for a general and comprehensive strike for all workers and facilities in Arab communities. This decision comes after a bloody week that saw the killing of 12 people, amidst accusations against the Israeli ruling establishment of deliberate silence regarding the violence and extortion that is rampant in Arab towns.

The committee clarified that the strike will last for three consecutive days, during which all economic activities will be halted, while ensuring communication with social organizations to guarantee the success of the move and protect strikers from the risk of dismissal. The Follow-up Committee also approved organizing a 'disruption march' next Sunday, where convoys of cars will set off from various regions towards Jerusalem, followed by a press conference to highlight the issue internationally and locally.

In the context of national preparations, the committee began preparing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Land Day on the third of next March, by issuing hundreds of thousands of copies of a special booklet documenting the occasion. The Follow-up Committee also reiterated its condemnation of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and denounced the repeated attacks by settlers in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

For its part, Hebrew press sources revealed that the head of the occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, is seeking to evade responsibility for the horrific numbers of Arab casualties. At the same time, the Supreme Court postponed ruling on a petition demanding the dismissal of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, despite his abysmal failure and interference in police work, while newspaper editorials described the situation as a deliberate destruction of the internal Palestinian home.

On the academic analysis front, Professor As'ad Ghanem, a political science lecturer, emphasized the necessity of formulating a work program that strengthens community immunity and pressures the Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir government to change its policies, calling for an international campaign to expose government complicity. Ghanem stressed the importance of field partnership to confront the 'monster of crime' that threatens the Palestinian presence in Israel.

In turn, the mayor of Tamra, Musa Abu Roumi, called for adopting a media campaign to push the Jewish street to break its silence, warning that the fire of crime would spread to Jewish residential complexes. Abu Roumi emphasized the need to increase the activity of Arab local government and not rely solely on parliamentary movements, noting that the level of protests is still below what is required to confront the acceleration of crime.

Crime is still faster and greater than protests, and we, as heads of Arab local authorities, must escalate in defense of our public's fundamental right to security and safety.