Israel’s society is currently in a state of shock.
The country has recently witnessed a series of murders, teens killing teens, and more cases of gruesome acts of crime.
The mounting crime wave and sense of insecurity in Israel has prompted calls requiring a tougher police response. In the last few years, the level of violence in the Jewish state seems to have skyrocketed, reaching unprecedented peaks lately. Israelis sense that crime has come closer to their personal lives; to their backyards and can touch anyone, at anytime.
Israeli police have approximately 20,000 officers, with a yearly budget of nearly NIS 6 billion (nearly US$4 biilion), but an estimated 80 percent of it goes towards salaries and pensions.
In view of the recent criminal upsurge, the Israelis are grasping themselves, day and night, with thorny questions on how this situation evolved and on what can be done to prevent future cases.
A 15-year-old teen, who dreamt of becoming a model, was strangled to death on the way to a local mall in her hometown of Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv - by a 16-year-old boy for no apparent reason. The suspect had a long criminal history but was not imprisoned.
A few days later, the badly mutilated body of a 20-year-old woman who disappeared was found in a business district in the southern port city of Ashdod, marking the tenth murder in Israel in a period of two weeks.
The recent murders have stirred an already furious debate regarding the leniency of Israel’s justice system and the failure to address growing crime and violence.
As the Israeli cabinet meets Sunday to discuss the wave of murders and other violent crimes in Israel, Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra is to make a request for a NIS 2.5 billion increase in the Israel Police budget, to cover hiring of thousands of new officers and technological improvements, according to Israel Radio.
Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi is set to demand increased overall resources, and will ask the cabinet to declare the war on crime a "national goal."
Karadi is expected to present this year's updated crime figures to the ministers. He will disclose that from January to the end of May, there has been a 34 percent rise in the number of murder cases, compared to the same period last year. Furthermore, the number of domestic violence cases has risen by 5.1 percent and the number of car thefts by 14 percent. The number of youths caught entering nightclubs with knives has grown by 61 percent.
Karadi and Ezra will demand that a dismissal of 2,000 officers be canceled. The two will also demand significant personnel and budget increases to boost the police presence on the street. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is expected to support the police request to restore 2,000 police positions which were to be cut.
The Israeli cabinet is leaning toward approving the police request, however finance ministry officials are expected to oppose this decision. The police had undertaken to slash 2,000 officers in exchange for funding to upgrade their equipment.
In light of the tense atmosphere in Israel, the police will also ask the education and social welfare ministries to initiate projects to prevent crime recidivism.
"The prime minister understands that, in light of the numerous jobs at hand, you cannot slash police personnel at this time," a senior political source said. "However, despite the budget and personnel problems, we must carry out the missions."
The job cutback was postponed until next year due to the so-called disengagement plan, and the police are currently asking to cancel it altogether, following the rise in crime and the increase in police tasks.
According to HaAretz, Sharon met Karadi last week to discuss the preparations for the disengagement and the state of public security. He reportedly demanded that the police act resolutely against the disengagement objectors' roadblocks. "You can't let the state close down," he told Karadi.
"The state must go on running. You must display determination, of course according to procedures, but we cannot let them paralyze the state."
Karadi told the Israeli leader of the immense difficulties facing the police, including security on the Aqsa compund, which is a top priority, dealing with "illegal construction", which Sharon set as the police force's national mission, dealing with illegal aliens and with Palestinians staying in Israel illegally, the report said.
He explained that the focus is constantly being diverted, and the police lack resources to deal with all the tasks.
It appears the violence encompassing the occupation of Palestinian territories is penetrating the heart of Israeli society. Perhaps the situation will change once Israel withdraws from occupied lands and allocates resources to focus on its own domestic problems.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
