Israeli Government's Policies Deepen Rift With Arab Citizens

The outgoing Israeli government has significantly altered its approach to key issues affecting the Arab public, including economic development, crime, and policy towards the Bedouin community in the Negev. Legislation was also advanced that impacted the status of Arab citizens and Jewish-Arab relations.

Upon entering office, the government inherited an ongoing five-year plan for the Arab community. However, following Mai Golan's appointment as Minister for Social Equality, the implementation of Government Decision 550 experienced a substantial slowdown. Delays in approving budgets and the failure to appoint a successor to Hassan Touafra, who resigned as head of the Economic Development Authority, hampered progress. Golan also initiated budget cuts and reallocations, reducing the program's original NIS 30 billion to NIS 23.3 billion. Annual budget allocations for Decision 550 dropped from 92% during the previous government to 70.6% in 2022 and a projected 26.1% in 2025, with budget realization falling to 6.4% in 2025 from 35.2% the prior year.

One justification for these cuts, supported by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, was the need to bolster the fight against organized crime and violence. Government Decision 549, aimed at combating crime in the Arab community with a NIS 1.5 billion budget over five years, saw only about NIS 748 million of the planned NIS 825.7 million implemented by the end of 2025, roughly 55% of the total. This period also saw personnel and policy changes within the National Security Ministry, including the removal of Yoav Segalovitz as head of the staff for combating crime in the Arab society, with his replacement, attorney Roi Kahlon, appointed eight months later.

The "Stopping the Bleeding" program, designed for comprehensive crime and violence treatment in seven localities, was frozen in March 2023. This marked a shift from a multi-systemic approach involving welfare and education to one focused on enforcement. In 2023, the number of murder victims in the Arab community surged to 245, up from 116 the previous year. By 2025, the number reached a high of 252, with no corresponding increase in solved cases.

Another program, "Safe Path," targeting crime organizations, was also frozen under Ben-Gvir but relaunched in April 2024 as "Safe Path Green." Ben-Gvir highlights seized weapons and police raids, but a significant achievement he emphasizes is the demolition of illegal structures. Between 2023 and 2025, approximately 14,280 structures were demolished in Bedouin towns in the Negev, with about 5,750 in 2025 alone. This has led to about 2,500 Bedouin families losing their homes and approximately 20,000 people becoming homeless. Concurrently, Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amihai Chikli advanced plans for Bedouin settlement regulation, focusing on land ownership waivers in exchange for building plots, aiming to concentrate the population in larger, recognized settlements. Social organizations criticize these plans as coercive and ineffective.

Legislation related to counter-terrorism also accelerated following the October 7th events. Laws were advanced to prevent the employment of educators who studied in Palestinian Authority institutions and to revoke academic recognition from such institutions. Another law expanded the director-general of the Ministry of Education's authority to dismiss teachers for expressing support for terrorism. These measures, fueled by and contributing to a hostile public atmosphere towards Arab citizens, were accompanied by arrests for social media posts suspected of supporting terrorism. Additional legislation targeted crime organizations, aiming to facilitate Shin Bet involvement in combating them.

Overall, the government's policy towards Arab citizens was shaped by economic trends reducing services and a political drive to marginalize the Arab public or deepen separation from the Jewish public, defining the past four years.