The security situation is complex. Outlawing the Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch may have been unavoidable, but the surge in violence cannot be used as an excuse to promote legislation targeting Israeli Arabs or infringing on their rights, directly or indirectly. Such measures will do more harm than good, especially in the long run.

Tempers are running high these days, but if anything this is when we should see the glass as half full: Israel is home to 1.7 million Arab citizens, and we should always keep in mind the astonishing fact that only a handful of them have taken part in recent incidents. After two months of rising terrorism, Israeli Arabs have remained removed from the cycle of violence. Some may sympathize with the terrorists, some may subscribe to the incitement spread by the Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch, but they do not take part in the murder of Israelis.

We must examine what can be done to build up this positive trend of restraint by Israeli Arabs.

The situation is very frustrating. Every terrorist attack echoes the same question with growing urgency: What can be done to quell terror and restore the public’s sense of safety?

Read the article in full at Israel Hayom.