JERUSALEM, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the Arab public in Israel launched a hunger strike on Sunday, accusing the Israeli authorities of ignoring growing crime in the Arab communities.
The strike, joined by Arab leaders including parliament members, mayors and party leaders, was staged by setting up a protest tent in front of the prime minister's office in Jerusalem.
According to the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, a non-parliamentary umbrella organization of the bodies of the Arab-Israeli public, the hunger strike will last until Tuesday.
The protesters say the Israeli police are not doing enough to eradicate crime in the Arab communities, demanding a government plan to reduce violence and weapons dealings.
Last weekend, there were two murders in the Arab communities in northern Israel, raising the number of the murdered in the Arab community in 2019 to 80.
Mohammad Barakeh, head of the Arab committee, said the government and the police are responsible for increasing crime in the Arab communities.
"The proportion of those murdered in the Arab society in Israel is 52 per million people, compared with only nine per million in the Palestinian West Bank and 11 per million in neighboring Jordan," Barakeh noted.
He said his committee is considering filing an appeal to Israel's High Court of Justice.
