President Herzog Visits Sakhnin Following Rise in Violence in Arab Society in Israel

President Herzog: “The fight against crime and violence in Arab society must be at the very top of the national priorities and be addressed with the utmost determination. This is a national mission and a moral obligation. We must erase this stain from the face of Israeli society.”

On January 29, 2026, President Isaac Herzog visited the town of Sakhnin, where he met with the heads of Arab local authorities and visited the supermarket run by Ali Zubeidat, the initiator of the protest movement against crime within Arab society. President Herzog also met and spoke with Qasem Awad, the father of Dr. Abdallah Awad, who was murdered inside a clinic in Kfar Yasif in February 2025.

President Herzog’s remarks:

“Approximately 250 innocent Israeli citizens were murdered in Arab society in 2025. Since the beginning of January alone, more than 15 people have already been murdered. These are shocking numbers. This is an unacceptable situation.

“I stand here alongside a bereaved father, whose son, Dr. Abdallah, was murdered while doing the most noble thing of treating his patients, a mother and her two children. He was brutally murdered in the middle of a clinic in Kfar Yasif. This was a criminal and incomprehensible act. To you, dear Qasem, and to the public, I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and tell them: you are not alone. The State of Israel cares. Your pain is the pain of an entire nation.

“The fight against crime and violence in Arab society must be at the top of the national priorities and be addressed with the utmost determination. It is time to stop the infighting between authorities and ministries and to act together—through legislation, enforcement, and all necessary tools—to prevent the next tragedy. This is a national mission. It is also a moral obligation. We must erase this stain from the face of Israeli society.”

Qasem Awad, father of the late Dr. Abdallah Awad, to President Herzog:

“We are an inseparable part of the State of Israel, and we will never give that up. But the state and the government have a basic obligation toward us to protect our security. Do not push us into the backyard. We are law-abiding citizens, people who want to live in peace, with dignity and security. We do not want weapons, we do not want violence, and we do not want revenge. The responsibility to address crime and eradicate violence lies with the State of Israel. If the government decides that the fight against crime is a top priority, it will also know how to do it. The closer we get, the more we discover how similar we are and how shared our desire is to live, to study, and to raise children in safety.”