A time of war is a time when criminals also stay at home and engage less in crime. With the addition of the closure imposed on the Occupied Territories, there has been a drastic decline in property offenses. Figures obtained by Israel Hayom show that car thefts have dropped by about 50 per cent, as have apartment burglaries. Regarding murders in Arab society, according to data from the Abraham Initiatives, 16 people were murdered.
On 7 October, the State of Israel went into shock with the commencement of the war in Gaza. In the first hours of the fighting, the Israel Police fought the thousands of terrorists who were equipped with quantities of weapons, and in every encounter with the murderous terrorists the policemen had the upper hand.
Police and SWAT fighters eliminated more than 600 terrorists. The police lost 58 officers in the struggle for southern settlements.
"A sense of mission." Police fighting near Sderot, Photo: Reuters
Since then, a decline in "routine" crime has been observed. The data show that property offenses have also declined, some drastically, since the beginning of the fighting. From 7 October to 12 November, 855 vehicles were stolen, compared with 1,773 in the same period last year, a decrease of around 50 per cent. In addition, during the same period, 722 files were opened for theft from within a vehicle, compared with 996 files opened in the same period last year.
The trend is clear. The decline in crime figures, photo: Getty-Images-02
There has also been a significant decline in home burglary, with 430 files opened for this offense since the beginning of the war, compared with 850 files opened in the same period last year. The lowest decline was recorded in break-ins into businesses and institutions – 472 files were opened, compared with 515 files opened in the same period last year.
The procedure has changed
At the same time, there has been a large increase in cases of illegal aliens, and since the beginning of the fighting, the Prosecution Department has opened 1496 files for offenses of staying in Israel illegally, compared with 931 files in the same period last year. In addition, 501 files were opened for offenses of withholding, employing and transporting prisoners, compared with 278 files in the same period last year.
The police closed the restaurant in Ashkelon that employed prisoners from Gaza, Photo: Police Spokesperson's Office
When the war began, the head of the Prosecutions Division instructed that in light of the special state of emergency in the country and the atrocities of October 7, a strict policy should be adopted, which means indictments even against illegal aliens, whose first entry into Israel without a permit, since they did not pass the required security filter. Because of this, it is difficult to wonder about the purpose of their real stay within the country.
To what extent do the courts toe the line with the police on IPS issues? Only yesterday, the Haifa District Court issued a decision in the case of a 44-year-old defendant, a resident of the Occupied Territories, with no criminal record. The defendant had a valid residence permit to work for an employer, and the permit was not revoked and is still valid according to the systems today. Over the years, he had continuous employment permits. Despite this, he was indicted for the offense of exceeding the permit, because he did not work for the employer listed in the permit, but claimed that he worked for someone else interested in his services.
The court rejected all of the defense attorney's arguments, including the claim that this offense has not been enforced until now, and noted the great danger of someone staying in Israel in violation of the conditions of the permit, and ruled that he cannot be trusted. A resident of the Occupied Territories is supposed to work for the named employer. In its decision, the District Court referred to the existing opinion regarding the involvement of residents of the Occupied Territories in general and security offenses in the country, regardless of the nature of the stay. That is, illegally present or exceeding the permit.
The Arab street continues to bleed
At the same time, it seems that violence in Arab society also continues during the war. According to the Abraham Initiatives, since the beginning of the fighting, 16 Arabs have been murdered.
The scene of Mahmoud Khaldi's murder. Haifa, Photo: Michel-Dot-Com
Today, the number stands at 212 Arabs who lost their lives in 2023 in circumstances related to violence and crime. In the same period last year, 96 people were killed in similar circumstances.
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