The mayor of Lod commented today (Wednesday) on the latest murders in the Arab sector and strongly criticizes the lack of governance in the cities involved.
According to him: "We are all tired of the shootings. There is no struggle here between Jews and Arabs. There is a struggle here between the good citizens who want to live in peace and between a minority of criminals who shoot and do not care about others."
A message to the Abu Katifan family: "If you keep shooting, you'll see from us"
As a reminder, last June, the city of Lod attempted to mediate and even succeeded in achieving a ceasefire within the Abu Katifan family after the conflict escalated with shooting incidents and their severity. Quiet was maintained for three months, but eventually the reconciliation failed, and about a month ago, the shooting resumed. The commander of the Lod police, who arrived at the scene, found 140 bullet casings in the yard.
"We are not willing to let you destroy our whole and beautiful city, where Jews and Arabs live together and want to continue developing the city," the mayor chastised the Abu Katifan family. According to him, "Lod is growing and progressing in giant steps, and we will not allow any lawbreaker to undermine this historical process. We will not be discouraged and will act to enhance reconciliation and law enforcement without compromise."
"We will turn every stone to bring peace and personal security to the residents of Lod – Jews and Arabs alike. I promise to work together with the police so that we won't allow you to shoot, and if you do, you will be apprehended so strongly that you will regret the bad deeds done by the minority among you."
Ravivo: "The law I proposed will prevent the atrocities seen in Abu Snan"
According to the proposed law led by the mayor, a property owner must serve 10 years in prison. The proposed law stipulates that a shooting from a property reflects on the owner as the shooter. However, under the current law, the same property owner from whose property the shooting was carried out and where the bullet casings were found in the yard won't spend even a minute in prison because they didn't witness him shooting, and the court will release him tomorrow morning. "The prosecution and the Ministry of Justice, of course, oppose this, but we are exerting all our efforts, just as I am doing with the Shabak law that we are already beginning to implement, and only it will prevent the horrors, as we saw tonight in Abu Snan," said Yair Rivivo.
Ravivo: "The laxity of the legal system leads to a lack of governance"
The mayor praised the police's conduct in his city. "In Lod, there is an exceptionally good police force led by one of the best and outstanding station commanders in Israel, Superintendent Sasi Shlomo, accompanied by excellent and determined officers who are not afraid to enter confrontations, make arrests, and catch weapons," he said.
However, Ravivo strongly criticizes the judicial system. "Due to the leniency of the legal system and the courts, the picture that emerges is one of lack of deterrence, disregard for the laws of the State of Israel, perceived weakness, and absence of accountability in a city located in the heart of the country!"
Within this context, the mayor calls to raise the treatment of the rising Arab violence and crime to the top of the national agenda, through a series of measures such as:
- Amending the Shabak Law, which will allow the Shabak to assist the police in dealing with serious criminal crime.
- Determining minimum sentences for weapons and shooting offenses, which will not be less than 10 years in prison without a judge's discretion as to whether to reduce the punishment.
- Amending the Laws of Evidence will make it easier to convict of possession and use of illegal weapons.
- Detention until the end of the proceedings for those involved in shooting offenses.
- Legislation requiring families involved in a blood feud to be removed from the city until the conflict is fully and completely ended.
- Increasing the number of Lod police officers from the current 150 to 500.