Mizan Human Rights Center in Nazareth strongly warns against the Israeli government’s decisions to involve the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the military in administrative detentions of Arab citizens under the pretext of fighting violence and crime. We consider this step illegal and part of the foundation for a new military rule.

The Israeli ministerial team’s decision to involve Shin Bet and the military in Arab towns as part of the effort to combat crime in Palestinian communities is nothing more than a marketing scheme designed to implement racist laws and oppressive plans under the guise of “fighting crime and restoring security to the Arab community.” This is an overt plan aimed at creating a new reality where security agencies control civil rights and everyday life in these communities.

Such measures, whether they involve administrative detentions or the involvement of Shin Bet and the military in addressing the problem of violence and crime in Arab communities, are in essence an assault on freedoms and a deprivation of basic human rights. They represent a systematic persecution of political leaders and activists within our community.

How can those who protect criminal gangs and grant them immunity be trusted to fight them? This decision has both political and security implications, targeting our community at its very national core.

We at Mizan Human Rights Center are convinced that the practical outcome of implementing this decision is the creation of two separate systems for enforcing the law: one for Arabs and another for non-Arabs. This reminds us of the apartheid system in South Africa, where there were laws for white citizens and inferior laws for black citizens. This is a flawed, illegal, and unconstitutional equation that entrenches racist thinking under the guise of law and the imposition of order and security.

Mizan Human Rights Center – Nazareth
Wednesday, October 13, 2021