Gilad Erdan
Gilad ErdanFlash 90

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) on Saturday evening slammed MK Ayman Odeh for his claim that Israel Police is "racist."

"Odeh is lying and inciting against the police, so that they won't ask him why he's preventing the police from entering the Arab sector and Arab towns," Erdan said.

"The many murders in the sector are not connected to crime organizations, but to a high level of violence which leads to the use of weapons even in financial disagreements or other cases, unfortunately.

"Odeh is not really working to fight the violence."

Odeh, who heads the Knesset's Joint Arab List, on Saturday night told Israel's "Meet the Press" that police "did not do anything" about the rampant crime in the Arab sector "because they're racist police."

He also claimed that Erdan's remarks about Arab MKs not wanting Israeli police involving themselves in the Arab sector's internal crimes was an "outright lie."