Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich clashed with lawmakers and the Arab party Ra’am, claiming that the government was not responsible for the rise in crime in the Arab sector, during a Knesset Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday morning.
“Are we to blame for you murdering one another?” Smotrich asked MK Iman Khatib-Yassin (Ra’am).
“You aren’t taking responsibility for anything. You take zero responsibility,” he added. “Take responsibility. Let’s start with you teaching your public not to murder. Let’s start with you teaching your children that Hamas is a terror organization and that violence is wrong.”
“We’re doing our part,” Smotrich said.
Khatib-Yassin responded, “Shame, shame, you should be ashamed.”
MK Vladimir Beliak (Yesh Atid) then slammed Smotrich, saying, “You are so racist and disgusting. You should be ashamed. You are responsible, you are a minister in the government, you are responsible.”
Rise in violent crime registered in Arab Israeli communities
The finance minister’s remarks came after he accused the Arab-Israeli population of not paying income taxes, leading to outrage from Khatib-Yassin.
There has been a sharp rise in violent crime in the Arab-Israeli communities, with nearly 50 people killed within the sector since the start of 2026, according to the Abraham Initiatives, an NGO that advances social inclusion and equal rights for Arab Israelis.
Last year was the deadliest year so far for the Arab sector in Israel, according to a December report by the Abraham Initiatives.
The crime rates have led to recent protests throughout the country, demonstrating against the government and police’s handling of the situation.
Nationwide disruptions are expected to be intensified to protest the rise in crime in the Arab sector, Hadash-Ta’al chairman Ayman Odeh told The Jerusalem Post last week.
Odeh called Smotrich’s remarks in the Knesset panel incitement and racism that was “absolute evil.”
“Listen carefully to Smotrich when he speaks about Arab society, and how he uses exactly the same propaganda that the Nazis used to speak about Jews in Germany in the 1930s,” Odeh said.
Critics have attributed the spike in crime in the Arab sector to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit), who oversees the police and has held the portfolio since 2022.
Ben-Gvir blamed the rise in crime in the Arab sector on Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, amid their ongoing rift. He made the comments during a speech at the Besheva conference on Tuesday, after clashes in the Knesset.
“The blood of those people who were murdered in the Arab sector is on Gali Baharav-Miara’s hands,” Ben-Gvir said, claiming that the police could work “from the morning to the evening,” but it would not be enough, due to her interference.
Smotrich had also clashed with MK Moshe Gafni from the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) party United Torah Judaism (UTJ) during the meeting.
The committee meeting focused on a land taxation bill as part of the 2026 state budget, which is being debated ahead of its second and third readings in the Knesset.
Smotrich told Gafni, “You’re in the opposition, and I have a feeling you’re going to remain there for a long time.”
Gafni slammed Smotrich in return, remarking that his Religious Zionist Party was struggling to pass the electoral threshold in recent polls.
Developments regarding the controversial haredi draft bill have become intertwined with the government’s passage of the 2026 state budget. The haredi parties have threatened to vote against the budget unless concessions are made on the draft bill.