MK Mansour Abbas, chairman of the United Arab List (Ra'am), the Knesset party which represents the southern branch of the Islamic Movement, accused the Israeli government of responsibility for the wave of murders in the Arab sector.
According to Abbas, the government's "racist and fascist" policies and its failure to fulfill its duty to provide security for Arab citizens have led to the murders.
Murder in Arab society has been rampant for decades, and police are afraid to enter Arab communities due to the danger involved. In addition, though some Arabs have called for police intervention, Arab society largely fears Israeli police and does not want government intervention.
Abbas expressed confidence that Arab and Jewish voters would succeed in toppling what he described as the "fascist and racist" right-wing government in the next Knesset elections, predicting that Ra'am would win at least seven seats.
Abbas also expressed hope that such results would enable Ra'am to join other parties in forming a new governing coalition to replace the current government, and give the party influence, and ability to participate in decision-making and shaping policy.
According to him, Ra'am's priorities include improving personal security for Arab citizens, securing recognition for illegal Bedouin villages in the Negev, and combating what he claimed to be racism, fascism, and discrimination against Israel's Arab population.