Arab Businesses Under Threat Should Be Protected, Not Closed
ACRI appealed to the Attorney General, the Israel Police Commissioner, and the police legal advisers on November 3, 2026, demanding that they stop temporarily closing businesses in Arab society that have been targeted by gunfire and threats, and instead take effective measures to protect them. The appeal was submitted following reports that administrative closure orders were being used against businesses under threat, on the grounds of protecting public safety: for example, following gunfire at a barbershop in Ar'ara in the Negev, the police ordered it closed for ten days.
In the appeal, ACRI Attorneys Abeer Joubran and Nitsan Ilani argued that prolonged closure of businesses infringes on freedom of occupation and property rights and affects the livelihoods of business owners and their employees, without any process to compensate them for lost income. Instead of protecting business owners from violence ad protection rackets and enabling them to earn a living safely, the police are making them bear the cost of dealing with crime. Also worth noting is that closing a business also does not eliminate the threat to the business owner, who may be targeted elsewhere; shutting down the business may also serve the offenders' aims, increase the pressure to give in to extortion, and deter people from filing complaints with the police.
The lack of effective support for Arab business owners under threat points to the misguided priorities of the police, who have allocated resources to interrupting weddings and other events while failing to protect businesses under threat. ACRI demanded that the police be instructed to refrain from temporarily closing businesses under threat, station police patrol cars near the businesses, and take targeted action against those making the threats. If a closure is necessary due to an immediate danger, it should be for as short a time as possible and should be taken alongside efforts to eliminate the threat and allow the business to reopen safely.
ACRI's appeal, November 3, 2026 (Heb)
