Joint Arab List leader Ayman Odeh called for an end to the “crime epidemic in Arab society” in a statement Saturday on the Twitter social networking site after four people were murdered within a 24 hour period this weekend.
“The elections are over but the crime epidemic in Arab society continues,” Odeh wrote. “Four are murdered in a day. This is the first issue we will address. We have no choice but to bring security back to the streets and live in a society without weapons.”
Two people were shot and killed during a wedding early Saturday morning in northern Israel, in the Bedouin town of Basmat Tab’un. Just hours earlier, an Imam was murdered in his car in a different town, and another man was shot to death in a third village.
Guns are traditionally fired into the air at Bedouin weddings and often at other Arab weddings as well, as a form of celebration following the ceremony.
There has long been a problem with illegal firearms in Arab towns and villages, particularly when a blood feud or honor killing is involved.
Since the beginning of this calendar year, 59 Israeli Arabs have been murdered, including 10 women. A year earlier, in 2018, a total of 76 Israeli Arabs were murdered, including 14 women.