Israeli-Arab violence is greater threat to Israel than Hezbollah - Sa'ar

• Author: YONAH JEREMY BOB
• Published date: 07 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"The phenomenon of organized crime [in the Arab-Israeli sector] endangers Israel more than external threats," he said in an interview that will appear in full in Friday's Post.

Pressed if he really believed the issue was a greater threat to the country than threats posed by Hezbollah and Hamas, Sa'ar responded without hesitation, "In my view, yes."

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"If you do not know how to deal with this issue, it will cause Israeli society to crumble to pieces from within," he said.

Addressing the potential pitfalls of involving the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in combating the murder wave, as opposed to leaving the police to handle it, Sa'ar said the "Shin Bet Law empowers the agency to deal with organized crime," such as the current Arab-Israeli wave of violence that is "undermining the foundations of the rule of law."

"It is smart," he said. "This is a hard situation, and we need all of the state authorities. We are not using them to replace the police tomorrow, but they [the Shin Bet] can help in different ways."

When it was noted that many Shin Bet officials would prefer not to be involved in anything beyond their more regular counterterrorism mission, Sa'ar said: "They will come committed to the effort" when called on

Furthermore, elements of the current wave of violence also have spilled over into nationalistic crimes, and the Shin Bet's capabilities were most appropriate for combating the approximate 500,000 illegal weapons in the Arab-Israel sector, he said.

Sa'ar later said in New Hope's faction meeting he would insist on completing the passage of a bill...