Country in ‘state of emergency’ as violence in Arab community soars, Herzog says at iftar dinner

Israel is “in a state of emergency,” amid near-daily deadly violence in Arab communities, President Isaac Herzog says at an iftar dinner hosted at his official residence.

“It is simply impossible to accept the current reality, with the violence and crime in the Arab society,” he tells Muslim community leaders, clergymen, educators, academics, IDF officers, and security personnel.

Herzog calls the violence “a security threat of the first rate,” and urges the country to use “all the tools at its disposal” to combat the phenomenon.

Turning to the region, Herzog says that “we stand at the threshold of a new era, one that holds great opportunities for the entire region.” He praises US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, saying it “has led to the return of the hostages home and to a ceasefire, and it is now receiving broad regional and international support.”

“Expanding the circle of peace, normalization and the Abraham Accords is a shared interest of all the peoples of the region,” he continues. “It is within our reach, provided that we stand together against the perpetrators of terror, particularly from Tehran.”

The dinner was attended by the ambassadors from the UAE, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Côte d’Ivoire, and Tanzania, as well as diplomats from Chad and Nigeria.