- 3 months ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Tonight, Unreported World is from Israel, where a murder epidemic is devastating Arab-Israeli
00:06communities. With much of the world focusing on the conflict in Gaza and rising hostilities in
00:11the West Bank, hundreds of people are being killed each year in Israel itself. I've gone to northern
00:17Israel, where Arab-organized crime has seemingly taken control of towns and villages. But while
00:24most murders of Israeli Jews are solved, in Arab communities, the majority are not, leaving
00:29families feeling abandoned by the police and the Israeli government. And a warning, this
00:34film contains disturbing images from the start. A crime epidemic is sweeping through Palestinian
00:42and Arab communities in Israel. Hundreds of people are being killed each year. She was
00:49shot dead, many more critically injured and this is becoming very common in these communities.
00:56The majority of the killings are carried out by organized Arab crime families who are taking
01:01control of neighborhoods in cities and towns.
01:06Not the problem in that. And I don't know what kind of problem.
01:10Israeli police are accused of turning a blind eye and some go further, saying this is deliberate
01:16to keep this Israeli policy to keep Arabs in check. Have you heard of corrupt people in
01:21the army selling weapons?
01:23All of it came from the police and the army.
01:26Many more Arabs than Israeli Jews are being murdered. And very few of their killers are being brought
01:32to justice.
01:50Arab neighborhoods and towns are some of the poorest in Israel. Known as Arab Israelis, their
01:56population is made up of Palestinians and Bedouins who were living here before the State
02:00of Israel was created in 1948. There have been years of underinvestment in Arab areas and criminal
02:07gangs are filling the vacuum, acting with impunity.
02:14They even released their own promotional videos on social media and WhatsApp, which they film
02:21on themselves.
02:26Glamorous to some, but devastating to others.
02:33And it's not long before the harsh reality of the violence becomes apparent in one of the poorest
02:42towns in Israel.
02:43This is Jizr al-Zerqa, it's an Arab town on the coast in northern Israel and it's become quite
02:50famous for gun crime.
02:51A few nights before we arrive, two men are gunned down under a bridge on the outskirts of the town.
03:00Their car had been blocked in and gunmen opened fire.
03:04Mohammed Gourban and Imad Amash, both in their early 20s, were shot several times.
03:13Locals say Jizr al-Zerqa has become overrun by criminals.
03:18I've come to meet a social worker and crime researcher called Sami al-Ali, who was born and raised here and still calls it home.
03:26Hi.
03:27Hi.
03:28Hi, Chris.
03:29How are you?
03:30Hi, Chris.
03:31Very nice to meet you.
03:32Me too.
03:33This is your town?
03:34Yes.
03:35It's my town, Jizr al-Zerqa.
03:36And your family?
03:37My family is the official.
03:39Fisherman?
03:40Yes.
03:45In the last week, how many shootings have there been?
03:47In the last week, three victims were killed.
03:52Three boys were killed by death and death.
03:56That takes the total to five so far this year.
04:00Sami says eight people were murdered in Jizr al-Zerqa in 2024.
04:05Over 200 Arab Israelis have been killed across Israel this year alone, the majority linked to Arab-organized crime.
04:13This year could be the deadliest on record.
04:16Israel sees itself as a modern democracy, so it begs the question.
04:21How is this happening here?
04:24As we walk through the town, there are only a few men around. It used to be full of life before the gangs took over.
04:39How easy is it to get guns here?
04:54It's very difficult to get guns.
04:56In the Arab society, all of them are in Jizr al-Zerqa.
04:59First, I mean, it's good for everyone.
05:01There are workers.
05:02And there are soldiers.
05:03And there is a war between the groups and the boys.
05:06And there are soldiers.
05:07And there are soldiers.
05:08And there are soldiers.
05:09And there are soldiers.
05:10And there are soldiers.
05:11And there are soldiers.
05:12And there are soldiers.
05:13And there are soldiers.
05:14And there are soldiers.
05:15And there are soldiers.
05:16And there are soldiers.
05:17And there are soldiers.
05:18And there are soldiers.
05:19And there are soldiers.
05:20The next morning, I meet Sami outside the house of Imad Amash,
05:26one of the men killed earlier this week.
05:29Hi, Sami.
05:32He takes me in to meet Imad's mother,
05:35who's still grieving with her family.
05:37As-salamu alaykum.
05:40I'm very sorry for your loss.
05:42Can you tell me a little bit about Imad?
05:44I'm very sorry for your loss.
05:47I'm very sorry for your loss.
05:49I'm very sorry for your loss.
05:50I'm very sorry for your loss.
05:54She shows me pictures of him on her phone
05:57and says he had nothing to do with organised crime.
06:00What happened when you went to the scene?
06:03I was just on the ground.
06:05I'm like Islam.
06:07I'm a virgin.
06:10I was a virgin from the 5th of my life.
06:12I was a virgin.
06:15Do you believe the police will do anything?
06:17I was a virgin.
06:18I would not tell her about the police.
06:20The police will do anything.
06:21I mean, I was going to fire the fire.
06:24For instance, I wasn't moving the police.
06:27Once again, I got my brother in my brother.
06:29The other one gave me a brother.
06:31They gave me a brother.
06:32They gave me a phone.
06:32They told me a brother.
06:33They told me something.
06:34They told me something.
06:34I was a son.
06:36It's a bad issue.
06:44Violence has permeated every aspect of Arab life in Israel.
06:48Arab Israelis make up 21% of the country's population,
06:52but account for around 73% of murder victims.
06:56Israeli police only solve around 15% of murders
07:00when Arabs are the victims.
07:02When Israeli Jews are killed, they solve 75% of cases.
07:07We're on our way to another murder scene,
07:09this time in the town of Ramla.
07:12What we know is that this morning a woman came here
07:14to drop her daughter off at nursery school.
07:17She was shot dead and the two children were injured.
07:22The police later tell us it was a suspected honour killing,
07:26possibly carried out by a hitman,
07:28a common way to ensure family members have an alibi.
07:32And as there's so little chance of getting caught,
07:34working for criminal gangs is a career option
07:37for many young Arab-Israeli men.
07:39Around 40% of Arab-Israelis live below the poverty line.
07:43The gangs offer a way to make money,
07:45even if that means targeting their own community.
07:48Hello. I'm Krishnan.
07:51Nizar Diab.
07:52Thank you very much indeed.
07:53Uncle Ahmed.
07:54And this is Ahmed.
07:55This is Ahmed.
07:56He was married, three weeks.
08:01Ahmed's marriage didn't even last a month.
08:06A gunman shot him dead after his family refused
08:09to pay extortion money to a criminal gang.
08:12He was killed on his father's birthday.
08:17What happened when they came?
08:19It was one of the difficult days in my life.
08:28The gang had demanded five million shekels in protection money.
08:31That's over a million pounds.
08:33Why didn't you pay?
08:37Do you have children?
09:02Do you have children?
09:03Yes.
09:04Are you not afraid for your own children?
09:18Are you tempted to take revenge yourself?
09:28Why didn't you go to the police when they came to you?
09:34The police didn't do anything.
09:37The police didn't do anything.
09:38The police didn't do anything.
09:39The police didn't do anything.
09:40After the police,
09:41the police started to move.
09:45When the police did respond days later,
09:47Nizar says instead of properly investigating the murder
09:51or offering condolences,
09:53they confronted the family,
09:54all caught on camera,
09:56and attacked them.
09:57even firing warning shots to disperse the grieving and angry family members.
10:06We do not blame the crimes.
10:08So we are simply doing this thing.
10:09It is a cause of the cause.
10:10But there is no reason to arrest them.
10:11We are fighting each other,
10:13and we are trying to blame each other.
10:14If we live in trouble,
10:15we are trying to submit an effective force,
10:17we are trying to submit our rights,
10:18and we are trying to do everything.
10:19These are the laws we have.
10:21This is what we have here.
10:22Tamara Police said at the time the family refused to cooperate with them,
10:26And Israeli police say they've made 54% more arrests relating to racketeering this year.
10:36Two days after the two men were killed under the bridge, there was another murder in Jizr al-Zarqa.
10:43This is the sequestration.
10:46This is the car.
10:51So it turns around.
10:52And he runs.
10:57Look.
10:58Yeah.
10:59Look.
11:05Mohamed's brother, Kusai, was 24 years old when he was shot outside the family home.
11:17CCTV, filmed earlier that night by the family's own camera, shows the police came to speak to the family before the attack happened.
11:26Mohamed went inside, but Kusai remained at the falafel stand, his family owned.
11:41Kusai was your little brother, and you found him over here.
11:44That must have been a terrible moment for you.
11:46And you found him over here.
11:48That must have been a terrible moment for you.
11:51He died.
11:52He died.
11:53He died.
11:54He died.
11:55He died.
11:56He died.
11:57He died.
11:58He died.
11:59He died.
12:00He died.
12:01He died.
12:02He died.
12:03He died.
12:04He died.
12:05He died.
12:06He died.
12:07He died.
12:08He died.
12:09He died.
12:10He died.
12:12He died.
12:12He died.
12:13I don't know what to do.
12:2140 seconds left.
12:25I can't breathe.
12:32I'm sorry.
12:38Despite the police seemingly knowing about the attack,
12:42they didn't stop it.
12:43The police station is just five minutes away.
12:47When we asked the police why,
12:49they said they wouldn't talk about an ongoing investigation.
12:52When the ambulance arrived with the police,
12:55it was too late to save Kusai.
13:00Is there any law in Jisa?
13:02Or do the gangs run this town?
13:04As we can see, the police are the victims.
13:10As we can see, the victims are the victims.
13:12It's not the police.
13:13There's no police.
13:14The police know everything.
13:17What's the name of the police?
13:20And if you want to know them,
13:23see the cameras?
13:25Look at the cameras.
13:26Muhammad has now lost two brothers to gun crime.
13:35His brother, Muad, was shot dead a year ago.
13:39He says neither had any ties to Arab organised crime.
13:42Amongst all of these victims,
13:52it's impossible for us to try and work out
13:55who was entirely innocent
13:57and who was part of the gangs
13:59and targeted because of that.
14:01But what's clear is that you have grieving families
14:04in a town that has no confidence
14:07in the police's ability to keep people safe.
14:10They don't believe that the police are going to solve
14:13any of these murders.
14:14Indeed, they say that in the latest one,
14:16they didn't even take witness statements.
14:21The right-wing government of Israel
14:22is led by Benjamin Netanyahu.
14:24His party propped up by more extremist politicians,
14:28such as the Minister for National Security, Ben Gavir,
14:31who's in charge of the police.
14:33In the past, he's called for Palestinian prisoners
14:36to be shot in the head
14:38and has previous convictions for inciting racism
14:41and supporting terrorism.
14:43He now controls the police forces that once arrested him.
14:47We asked him for an interview,
14:49but he never replied to our request.
14:51The police under Ben Gavir have also cracked down on anti-war protests
15:00during Israel's bombing of Gaza.
15:02And before the peace deal was signed,
15:04a small number of protesters gathered in Nazareth every week,
15:08including Arab-Israeli politician Ida Touma Suleiman,
15:11an outspoken government critic.
15:14What effect has putting Ben Gavir in charge of the police had
15:19on organized crime in Arab communities?
15:23Well, I think that the fact that they have choose someone
15:28who is so racist and so fascist, unpopulist,
15:34and in my opinion, stupid too, is not a mistake.
15:42So what is your suspicion as to why is organized crime
15:45able to take hold like this?
15:47Because, in my opinion, the whole government
15:51and the whole establishment is seeking two things.
15:55First of all, to have anarchy in the society and fear
16:01and to have the Palestinian citizens of Israel terrorized by the crime.
16:07Our young people are not able to find proper jobs.
16:11They see the future as very unstable.
16:15Even if they want to withdraw from the whole public space
16:19into their villages and towns,
16:21the local criminals will be waiting for them.
16:25So they decide to look for a better future abroad.
16:30This is kind of a quiet immigration.
16:35But when you push people to a situation
16:38that they are not even feeling secure
16:41to raise their children in this place,
16:46that's the result.
16:51Israeli government officials have admitted weapons
16:54from Israeli army bases and staging areas
16:57are finding their way into the arms of criminals.
17:02And since the bombing of Gaza started two years ago,
17:05there's been an increase in the use of explosives,
17:08like the car bomb used to kill Ziyad Abu Muk,
17:11a headmaster in the town of Baqa last year.
17:14His killers never caught.
17:16Every day we've been here,
17:20we've heard of another shooting in an Arab community,
17:23with more videos like this posted online.
17:27I want to meet one of them.
17:29So after dark, we head to meet a man
17:31who says he spent years in the criminal underworld,
17:34but is now retired.
17:36We've hidden his identity and changed his voice.
17:39I get out of prison and within 48 hours,
17:42I shot the guy who testified against me.
17:45How easy is it to order a killing?
17:47What does it cost?
17:48Ordering a killing today doesn't cost money.
17:51In the past, it was expensive.
17:53But today it's easy.
17:5590% of the people who kill
17:57don't know why they are killing.
17:59They have a job to do.
18:01And they do it without arguing or knowing why.
18:05Have you heard of people in the army, corrupt people in the army,
18:10selling weapons into criminal organisations?
18:13All of it came from the police and the army.
18:17Three years ago, a senior army officer from the north
18:20offered me 25 Glocks and four American sniper rifles for 200,000.
18:26He said, give me 200,000 and the weapons are yours.
18:31I refused.
18:33There are also police officers who collaborate with crime families.
18:37Once a police officer came to my house and said,
18:40you make a lot of money.
18:42Why we don't work together?
18:44But I was afraid of him.
18:46For weeks before our trip and during it,
18:51we asked to speak to the police and government ministers.
18:54Finally, the police have agreed
18:56and invited us to meet the commanding officer
18:59and follow them as they raid a property in Jisra al-Zaqaqa.
19:03Welcome, come.
19:05But despite an initial warm greeting,
19:08just as we're setting up, they change their mind
19:11and tell us to leave.
19:13I wanted to ask them why they think the local population
19:19have so little confidence in them
19:21and why they haven't yet arrested anybody
19:23in connection with the three murders in the last few days,
19:26despite there being so much CCTV around the incident.
19:31But at the last minute, the PR mind has stepped in
19:33and said they weren't going to cooperate with the international media
19:37and so we've been asked to leave.
19:39We follow them anyway.
19:43A special unit searches a building.
19:45But it doesn't look like they find anything.
19:48The police have released some footage of them taking part
19:53in previous busts elsewhere in Israel,
19:56where they arrested several suspects and seized weapons.
19:59and they say they will use all means at their disposal
20:03to deal with violence and crime in Arab society.
20:10The next morning, we head out again to another crime scene.
20:13Well, we've just heard there's been another murder right on this road
20:19and this time it looks like it was a stabbing.
20:26So this is the shop where he was going.
20:28And the police are still here.
20:30This is the city of Haifa,
20:34where just over 12% of the population is Arab-Israeli
20:38and for whom violence is becoming increasingly common.
20:44The police have said there was a brawl
20:46and a young 19-year-old known to them, called Mohammed Marid,
20:49was stabbed to death.
20:51His family have said that he was just coming here to do some shopping,
20:54he was accosted by people outside and they attacked him.
20:58Hello.
21:05Hello.
21:06Welcome to the police.
21:07I'm very sorry.
21:09At the family house, we meet yet another grieving parent.
21:23Do you have confidence the police will solve this?
21:26Inshallah, he'll be dead.
21:27Inshallah, he'll be dead.
21:28Inshallah, he'll be dead.
21:29Inshallah, he'll be dead.
21:34Hundreds gather for Mohammed's funeral.
21:39This is the reality of what's been happening here.
21:42A boy on the verge of adulthood lost,
21:45his parents and sisters in desperate grief.
21:48Police say they have arrested three people in connection with this murder.
21:53But this is a rare development in a country where so many people never get justice.
21:59Whilst hundreds of families across Israel grieve, there are some determined to try to stop the violence.
22:12Jisrael Zerker is the only remaining Arab town on the Mediterranean coast.
22:17For years, young men made a living from fishing, a tradition now rare amongst young Palestinians.
22:24Samuel Ali, who we met at the start of our trip, organizes lessons for young men.
22:30He believes it's one way to keep them out of trouble.
22:32Tell me about this type of fishing. How does it work?
22:35This is a method for the traditional fishing fishing.
22:38This is called the bull mane.
22:41The bull mane is a hook called the bull mane, which is called a flies,
22:57which is based on the fishing fishing rod.
23:01There's a romanticism to what Sami's doing here that goes with the proverb about teaching
23:07a man to fish and he'll eat for the rest of his life.
23:10But the truth is that in those towns, if you teach a man to sell drugs, he could be driving
23:16around in a BMW until everything catches up with him.
23:21We asked the Ministry of National Security, which oversees the police, to respond to the
23:25allegations in this film, but it didn't reply.
23:29The police have previously said they find it hard to investigate crimes in Arab-Israeli
23:33communities because witnesses don't always cooperate.
23:38But if anybody really wants to transform the chances for these Arab-Israelis, the police
23:43are going to have to start solving crime here, the way they do in Israel's Jewish communities.
23:59We're going to come back to the province.
24:12We're going to work.
Comments