At 11 P.M. Wednesday, a Ramle man was shot to death in the street. At around midnight, a woman was killed in a car in the city's Jawarish neighborhood. Toward dawn, a man from Jdaideh-Makr was shot dead on a motorcycle and later Thursday morning, a 19-year-old man seriously wounded his mother in Kafr Qasem. At 5 P.M., a hand grenade was thrown at a shop in Ramle: A woman and her 8-year old daughter, a 10-year old boy and a 24-year-old woman were killed. And Friday, there was another homicide in Tira.
Seven Arab citizens were killed in Israel in under 24 hours of "governance." As the grenade was tossed into the store, the responsible cabinet minister and the police commissioner met to finalize the new police appointments that will strengthen National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's grip on the police.
Since then, a bomb has exploded in a car in Acre, and a young man and a 5-year-old girl have been wounded by gunfire in Jisr al-Zarqa. Since the beginning of the year, there have been 210 violent deaths in Israel, 168 of them members of the Arab community. Instead of dealing with the accusations, during a PR tour of the scene in Ramle, the minister in charge chose to blame the attorney general and silence the media.
The police also prefer to focus their resources on the political persecution of the anti-government and pro-hostage deal demonstrators. Over the past month, the police arrested demonstrators holding silent protests in the form of a picnic near the homes of cabinet members and lawmakers ;refused to release dozens of protestors from custody, on the orders of "certain ranks"; arrested and quickly charged a 27-year-old woman who allegedly threw a ball of sand at Minister Ben-Gvir; dismantled a tent encampment in support of the hostages; shoved the aunt of murdered hostage Carmel Gat; and, on Friday afternoon, arrested three women for distributing flyers in a synagogue.
To this should be added the promotion of Ben-Gvir's secretary – who instructed police commanders not to use force during the riots at Beit Lid – to commander of the Judea and Samaria District, where there has been no policing for a long time. The last round of appointments is the final proof: Decent, experienced police officers were sidelined while officers who are loyal to the minister have been promoted. The police have been shaped to the minister's will.
On Friday evening, the new police spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Arye Doron, pointed to the culprits: "We hear that the crime families and people who disturb the peace draw their power also from the [news] studios." Like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, instead of addressing the problem, he attacked the media.
When the government was established, it was feared that Ben-Gvir would form a militia that would follow his orders. After objections were raised to a national guard that would report directly to the minister, he fully subordinated the police to himself, and the force surrendered with barely a struggle. This is another critical step toward the final shattering of Israeli democracy.
The above article is Haaretz's lead editorial, as published in the Hebrew and English newspapers in Israel.