The Israel government unveiled a new plan to combat the spiraling violence among a the country's Arab population, which claimed the lives of 107 people this year alone.
The six-months interim plan will see the IDF and the Shin Bet internal security agency tighten security to prevent weapons being smuggled off military bases and across borders.
"Israel is in an emergency situation and that is why we are using emergency measures," said Deputy Public Security Minister Yoav Segalovitz, who said the plan, endorsed by Prime ministry Naftali Bennett, has already gone into effect.
Other bills advancing through parliament would apply minimum sentences for illegal weapons possession and expand police authority to perform searches without warrants.
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10 of those murdered in the past year in the Arab sector
(Photo: Police spokesman, Yaffa48)
Arab lawmakers, meanwhile, were split over how to address the violence.
Opposition lawmaker Sami Abu Shahadeh from the Arab Joint List said more police transparency was needed after years of failing to head off murders, while Regional Cooperation Minister Issawi Frej of the left-wing Meretz party said he intended to support the government program.
"My house is on fire. I do not have the luxury to think of human rights," said Frej.
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Gunmen involved in double murder caught on security cameras in Deir al Assad, last April
Hassan Jabareen, an attorney and director of the Adalah organization that advocates for Palestinians' rights in Israel, said his group would mount legal challenges to elements of the crackdown, including warrantless searches.
"They are going from extreme under-policing to extreme over policing," he said. adding that some of the proposed methods reminded him of Israel's first two decades, when Arab citizens were placed under military rule until 1966.
"The language of the law is neutral but the enforcement won't be neutral. It will be racial profiling," Jabareen said.