The fight against violence and crime: A wave of murders has been recorded in recent days in the Palestinian Authority. Three young Palestinians were murdered in two shooting incidents in Nablus and Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, bringing the death toll in the West Bank to 18 since the beginning of the year.
In Beit Ummar, gunmen opened fire and murdered the two young men, Samer and Ibrahim Akhliel. The footage circulated on social media, and security forces declared a curfew in the village as part of measures they took to investigate the circumstances of the incident.
The murder came against the backdrop of a dispute between the Akhlil and Abu Ayash families. A week ago, armed men from the al-Ayash family fired at a group of young men from the Akhlil family, wounding two of them. The conflict intensified about a year ago and claimed casualties on both sides after attempts to reach Sulha failed.
Palestinian police spokesman Louis Erzikat. "Although we don't have a lot of resources and resources, we have successes and officers with experience," Photo: None
Despite the recent series of murders, the figures show that the number of murdered in Palestinian society in Judea and Samaria is much lower than that in Arab society in Israel.
12 of 18 homicides solved
Palestinian police spokesman Louis Arzikat says most of the murders recorded from January this year until now have been completely solved and the perpetrators have been arrested. For example, the Nablus police announced yesterday that they had solved the murder case of a 60-year-old Palestinian woman from whom gold jewelry worth NIS 320,000 was stolen at the beginning of June. "We discovered two withdrawals from the deceased's bank account, and the investigation revealed that two nursing care workers who cared for her committed the crime," the statement said.
"We have made quick gains when it comes to chasing criminals," Erzikat said. "We reached them within a short time, caught them, and the files were transferred to the State Prosecutor's Office. Although we do not have many resources and resources, we have successes and officers with experience. The number of homicides since the beginning of the year is ten percent lower than the same period last year. So far, we have managed to solve 12 of the 18 murders committed," he told Palestinian TV on Sunday.
According to Erzikat, regarding the rest of the cases, these are criminals, whose identity is usually known to the Palestinian police, but who fled into Area C in areas around Jerusalem where police forces do not have the authority to act, or into Israel itself, making it difficult to apprehend them.
"There are places we can't reach, and that's where criminals find safe havens. For example, if someone commits murder in Hebron and flees to the suburbs of Jerusalem," he said.
Qalqilya. Palestinian policeman inspects house after exchange of fire between police and Hamas,
Hebron recorded the highest number of homicides this year, followed by Qalqiliya and finally the suburbs of Jerusalem. There were 12 murders in villages, 5 in cities, and only <> in a refugee camp. In addition, most of the incidents took place against the background of clans' quarrels, blood feuds and family disputes.
Residents help the police
Arzikat said in the interview that one of the things that helps the rapid decryption is the cooperation on the part of the population. "Palestinian society opposes violence and crime and does not cooperate with arms dealers and criminals. We have cooperation from the residents so that the criminals do not receive protection and support from the public. Even the family itself, from which the murderer came, later disowns him."
He also noted that these are separate murders and not organized crime. "We do night operations that include collecting weapons, usually long weapons, Kalashnikovs and M16s, in addition to pistols. If we talk about the causes, then it starts with the family and culture and education that encourage violence and it has to end. There is also incitement on social media. The role of mediators and family dignitaries who make forgiveness is important, but at the same time they also support our work and those of the security forces."
A Palestinian security source told Israel Hayom that the achievements of the Palestinian police in solving criminal crimes can also be attributed to the cooperation between the police and the other Palestinian security agencies.
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