Odeh Takes Arab Crime Case to Guterres at UN

Joint List chair MK Ayman Odeh will meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Thursday to press the international body on the Arab community crime wave in Israel, Odeh's office said Wednesday. The Netanyahu government has moved to expand law-enforcement resources against Arab-sector crime, with Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs announcing a NIS 500 million allocation for a first-ever Shin Bet unit focused on the wave and a total NIS 567 million package including police, pending Sunday cabinet approval. Israel Police also confiscated 30 vehicles from suspects with tax debts to disrupt criminal financing. Odeh said the government has closed doors to us in the fight against crime and pledged to keep the issue on the international agenda, while officials note the widening security-service role that follows years of Arab-community pressure to escalate the response.