PM, police chief attend inauguration of Jisr az-Zarqa, Kafr Kanna police stations
Police stations inaugurated in Jisr az-Zarqa, Kafr Kanna with PM Netanyahu, Commissioner Alsheikh, Public Security Minister Erdan in attendance; Netanyahu says success depends on 'business development, law enforcement', promises to assist Israeli Arabs 'crying out for change'; local residents say similar move failed in other Arab towns, demand commitment from police to eradicate crime.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan and Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh attended the opening ceremony of a Jisr az-Zarqa police station Tuesday morning, amid a flurry of criticism for residents who decried the move as purely cosmetic. The three participated in the opening of an additional station in Kafr Kanna.
The Jisr az-Zarqa event was attended by dozens of residents, including council head Morad Amash. "I thank the prime minister for honoring us by coming here. This is a historical moment we dared not dream of," Amash said.
At a later ceremony inaugurating a Kafr Kanna police station, dozens of locals demonstrated against the senior Israeli officials. Protesters carried placards saying, "Erdan, you liar, you murdered Yaqoub Abu al-Qiyan (in the Umm al-Hiran shooting incident)" and "We'll sacrifice our lives for the martyrs."
The prime minister opened his comments by addressing the council's head. "I assumed I'll come here to cut a ribbon and be greeted with a multitude of requirements I'll study thoroughly. It all starts with the rule of law and continues with business development," the prime minister opined.
"I can personally attest to the fact you have the most beautiful coastal strip in Israel. You need to develop it. Develop businesses and law: the two things to guarantee success. This is a holiday for Jisr az-Zarqa and the rule of law in Israel," Netanyahu said.
"After the minister of public security and the commissioner began their terms we met and I told them once of the first items on their agenda was ensuring law and order for our Arab citizens. I was already taken aback then by calls of distress I received. They are suffering, they are crying out and they want change. I later attended an event that rattled me—there's no other word for it—in the Knesset. A young Muslim woman sat next to me, whose husband was murdered and small children were threatened. She shook and told me, "Help me, prime minister, we're living in fear.' That had an immense impression on me," the prime minister recounted.
"The demand and right to receive the rule of law, the enforcement of law and order—so prevalent in other parts of the country—is a national undertaking of the first order in my eyes. We therefore discussed it many times and came to the decision to shift budgets or add positions, to train and recruit additional forces, from the Arab-Muslim population as well. The third pillar on which this plan stands is filling the entire Arab sector with police stations," Netanyahu continued.
"It's a revolution because police stations are the living epicenter of law enforcement and place for civilian appeals. This revolutionary plan is important not only to our Arab citizens but to all Israelis. This station will contribute much to the individual's security and feeling of ease, to maintaining public order, to respecting the law, to a determined battle against crime and to road safety. We need cooperation. Police is not the enemy, it's the greatest friend of residents and citizens," Netanyahu concluded.
Police Commissioner Alsheikh spoke next, saying, "We've been focused on deepening police work in the Arab sector for a while. Heads of authorities have been crying out for policing and law enforcement to the same degree found elsewhere in Israel, and it has become a main goal for the police and anchored in a government decision. Our goal is for the normative citizen to prefer walking alongside an officer on the sidewalk, whereas only criminals will prefer cops not be there."
Alsheikh, who spoke partly in Arabic, added, "When a shooting occurs in Arab towns, Jewish neighbors complain about the noise whereas Arab residents complain of casualties. Since the station opened here in Jisr we've witnessed a decline in shooting and violent incidents and two Carl Gustav guns were even handed in. I call on the most meritorious of the sector's sons to join the police force. Join us to make a change," Alsheikh concluded.
'Stations for handing out paychecks'
Despite the inauguration of the new Jisr station, a large portion of the town's citizens remained unconvinced it would be of any help in reducing violence and crime.
"I'm not opposed to creating the station, but I'm afraid police failed in eradicating crime in many settlements were stations were founded, such as Umm al-Fahm, Kafr Qasim, Tayibe and others. We don't want stations solely to hand out paychecks but need a team of cops who have the courage to work with enough determination and not disregard the violent offenses committed here. If they don't do their duty, they're better off not being here," said a Jisr resident.
Sami Ali, a Jisr az-Zarqa councilman and chairman of the town's popular committee, said, "Budgets, buildings and resources alone will not save us. Fighting violence and crime necessitates first and foremost a change in the police's belligerent and racist policy towards Arab society in general and Jisr az-Zarqa residents in particular. Netanyahu's participation in the police station's inauguration raises many questions, in light of the fact that he had never bothered coming here throughout his term as prime minister and never listened to the plight of residents despite being our neighbor to the south."
Netanyahu, Erdan and Alsheikh attended the Kafr Kanna station's inauguration later Tuesday. Residents protested the creation of a police station, as they claim officers murdered three of the town's residents "in cold blood."
One of the aforementioned incidents involved the death of Khair Hamdan in 2014, who was shot after trying to stab a cop. The case against the shooting officer was closed citing self defense. "This station serves only the police and contributes nothing to locals," residents said.
The Abraham Fund Initiatives noted a survey they had carried out on Arab citizens' feeling of safety and their relations with the police showed that in poverty and crime-ridden Jisr az-Zarqa 88 percent of residents feel insecure, compared to 32 percent in the entire Arab sector.
The survey further demonstrated that 95 percent of Jisr residents believe their town has a problem with violence, compared to 54 percent in Arab society. Similarly, while 59 percent of Israel's Arab residents professed to not trusting police, 83 percent of Jisr az-Zarqa residents raised the same sentiment.
The Abraham Fund then called on the prime minister to focus his visits to Arab cities in towns on matters relating to education, health, economic development and overall improvement in quality of life while not necessarily shining a light on still-controversial topics.
Furthermore, the Abraham Fund was of the opinion that creating police stations in Arab communities must be accompanied by creating similar stations for emergency medicine, firefighting and other life saving services.
