Protests erupt outside PM's office, Arab leaders call to fire Ben-Gvir over crime in Arab sector

The convoy caused a roadblock along central highways as hundreds of cars journeyed to Jerusalem throughout the day from across the country.

Protesters held up signs reading "[Prime Minister Benjanin] Netanyahu is responsible for the crime." The demonstration blocked off streets in the government complex area.

Members of the secular Arab party Hadash-Tal joined the protest, calling on all citizens to participate in demonstrations and disrupt the roads.

“The wall of fear has fallen,” he added. “Tens of thousands of Arabs are rising up in a righteous and unprecedented struggle against violence, organized crime, and the government forces that enable them."

Hadash-Tal Party leader MK Ayman Odeh called violent crime in the Arab sector “a state of emergency” as he took part in the protest.

“We decided to disrupt traffic and our daily routine. Why are we doing this? Because we understand that if we do not fight crime now, the time will come when there will be a thousand people killed each year.”

“Our demands are clear. We want to live in a society without weapons and without organized crime groups. We want to live,” he said.

The convoy arrived in Jerusalem at around 4:00 p.m following delays. Organizers of the protest said police attempted to disperse vehicles, creating further traffic jams on the way there.

Demonstrators called to block traffic from the northern Coastal Highway to the Ayalon Highway and onto Route 1, the main road leading into Jerusalem’s entrance.

Other Arab leaders joined the protest, including the chairman of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, Dr. Jamal Zahalka, and the mayor of Sakhnin, Mazen Ghnaim.

The letter laid out demands to the government to address the crime in the Arab sector. It states that 2025 ended with an unprecedented number of 252 people murdered in criminal-related incidents. It adds that already in 2026, there has been a significant increase in the number of murder victims compared to previous years.

The death toll in Israel's Arab sector has risen to at least 36 since the start of 2026.

Several protests were held nationwide throughout January, calling for the Israeli government and security establishment to assert control over deadly organized crime.

The surge in violent crime is attributed to organized crime groups fighting turf battles and attempting to eliminate rivals. Arab criminal organizations have been involved in extortion, money laundering, and trafficking in weapons, drugs, and women.

Critics argue the crime wave has worsened since Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician, became national security minister in 2022.

Ben-Gvir defended the police’s work combating crime during a Sunday morning KAN Reshet Bet interview ahead of the protest.

“There is 20% less murder in the Jewish sector, let’s put that on the table. 60% fewer murders of Jewish women, and 20% fewer car thefts,” Ben-Gvir said.

When asked about the spike in crime in the Arab sector, he responded: "I don’t work only for the Arabs."

“There’s no doubt the phenomenon is serious, and there’s no doubt we want to fight it, let there be no misunderstanding,” Ben-Gvir continued.

He said that the Arab crime violence was “the product of 40 years of neglect. Weapons are everywhere, and an attorney general who doesn’t care.”

Ahead of the protest, organizers said, “Enough abandonment, enough crime. If our lives are not normal, the life of the state will not be normal."