Arab leaders call on PM to fire Ben Gvir, ‘put an end’ to crime wave, are denied entry to PM’s office

The heads of two Arab-Israeli umbrella groups deliver a message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside his Jerusalem office, demanding he act decisively against organized crime and fire National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Holding a formal letter addressed to the premier, Jamal Zahalka, a former Balad lawmaker who now heads the influential Arab High Follow-Up Committee, says that the police’s inability to solve murder cases has led to a “complete absence of deterrence [against homicide]” and “deepens the sense of neglect” among Arab citizens.

He stands next to Mazen Ghanaim, the mayor of the northern city of Sakhnin, who cosigned the letter. The pair led a Jerusalem-bound convoy of around 200 cars from Arab locales across the country to protest the spread of violent crime in Arab soicety.

Large police forces are deployed outside the Prime Minister’s Office as Zahalka gives his statement. Officers have barricaded the road with crowd control barriers and brought a water cannon, which is parked near the sidewalk.

“Today, we had a day of disruption on the roads. This expresses our situation: Our lives are disrupted completely,” Zahalka says. “Arab citizens are suffering from a total lack of security — shootings, murders every day… We want to put an end to this situation.”

“We say to Netanyahu, all of this is happening on your watch and it is in your power to change the situation. The State of Israel is obligated… to protect all of its citizens without distinction and to act with determination against organized crime,” he continues.

Zahalka and Ghanaim move past the barriers, and are followed by a gaggle of journalists as they request from police to be allowed to enter the Prime Minister’s Office and present Netanyahu with their letter. They are denied entry.