Police chief: Arab crime wave is ‘state of national emergency,’ cops’ ‘hands are tied’

Police chief Danny Levy says Israel is in a “state of national emergency” after five Arab citizens were killed in the span of 12 hours overnight and this morning, but insists that police are doing all they can to rein in violent crime.

In a situational assessment with senior officers this morning, the police commissioner insists the issue cannot be solved by police alone but requires action from government ministries, local officials, civil society organizations and even the army.

He claims officers are technologically under-equipped to combat the crime wave sweeping Arab society. Law enforcement cannot do its job when “our hands are tied, our ears are muffled, and our eyes are blindfolded,” he says.

Levy further finds fault with the court system and State Attorney’s Office. The courts, he says, must be harsher in their sentencing and allow police to use administrative measures against suspects, such as allowing police to restrict certain suspects’ freedom of movement and expression on the basis of confidential evidence, while state prosecutors should strive to expedite the process of filing indictments.

He also calls on local politicians and religious figures in Arab society to unequivocally denounce the violence, stressing that many of the victims are innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of disputes between gangs and warring families.

“To win this fight, we need a united front, a synchronized national effort from everyone,” Levy says.