In recent days, the phenomenon of Arab violence against Jews has been increasing throughout Israel. Harel Shoham, a member of the Ramla City Council, tells Arutz Sheva that the incidents in Jerusalem and Jaffa did not pass over Ramla.

"It started in the last few days and peaked yesterday. High school yeshiva boys in Ramla played in the playground in the evening, where they came upon a group of boys of Arab descent. A fight broke out between the two groups and the climax was when one of the young Arabs sprayed the yeshiva students and stabbed one of them with a screwdriver. The police immediately arrived at the incident but as of today have not been able to apprehend the boys."

Does this situation come as a surprise to you?

"Absolutely not, there has never been peace and quiet here but in recent days we have witnessed an escalation. I no longer remember a night in Ramla without explosives and fireworks being shot. We are talking here about bullying of children, of girls. It is impossible to let it slide."

As far as you are concerned, are these nationalistic incidents?

"It is said that there is coexistence in Ramla. Coexistence is not when one side does whatever it wants and the other side is cannon fodder. There is one side here that is frequently harmed. We called on the mayor and the Israel Police to get involved and I know efforts are being made. But in practice, that's not enough. There's a mass exodus of residents from the city."

What can be done, is more enforcement needed?

"There is no governance, on the part of the municipality, on the part of the police. If the local police are unable to deal with these phenomena they should bring in reinforcements from the national police. When the police want to dismantle phenomena of violence they know how to do it. Reinforcement needs to be brought in from outside. I want to make clear that this is not the entire Arab public.There are great residents who keep the law among the Arab public.I am angry with the leaders of the Arab public who do not know how to control these phenomena."

Do you cooperate with Arab city council members?

"I am a councilor in the opposition, currently in the coalition it is the mayor from the Likud and his friends in the Arab sector. The situation has been like this for two years now. This is an exact copy of the national situation in which the Likud is leaning on the Islamic Movement. All we want is peace. It takes courage to stand up to the rioters. We do not want to reach the place of Jaffa and the Damascus Gate [in Jerusalem]."