Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai was accused of racism after saying that the nature of Arabs was to kill each other, according to a record of his phone call published by Israeli media
TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2023) Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai was accused of racism after saying that the nature of Arabs was to kill each other, according to a record of his phone call published by Israeli media.
Shabtai was discussing security measures taken by the police to tackle violence in Arab communities with Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
"There is nothing to do. They kill each other. It is in the nature of Arabs," he said, according to the Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 News.
Representatives of Arab parties were outraged by the words of Shabtai, Israeli media outlet Arutz Sheva reported. Mansour Abbas, the leader of Arab party Ra'am urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country's President Isaac Herzog to condemn the racist statement, however, there has not been any official reaction from the two politicians yet.
Relations between Palestine and Israel have been adversarial since the latter's founding in 1948. Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition of their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government refuses to recognize Palestine as an independent political and diplomatic entity, and builds settlements in the occupied areas despite objections from the United Nations.
�Since the beginning of 2023, the situation in the West Bank, especially in the cities of Jenin and Nablus, has become much more complicated due to ongoing raids by the Israeli armed forces against the Palestinians.
