Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, Sept. 26, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

In 2025, the number of murdered Arab citizens of Israel reached a record high of 252. According to i24, most of these killings were linked to organized crime organizations, clashes between rival clans, family disputes, and honor killings.

But not if you ask the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The PA claims — and wants the Palestinian public to believe — that the many killings of Arabs by Arabs in Israel are the result of a “conspiracy by the Israeli police”:

The number of those murdered in the Palestinian society in the Interior [i.e., Palestinian term for Israel] [has reached] 234 since the start of the current year [2025]…

This is in the shadow of a severe and unprecedented rise in cases of violence and murder crimes in the Palestinian society within the 1948 territories [i.e., Israel], against the backdrop of a conspiracy by the Israeli police and negligence in performing its duty: fighting crime.

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 27, 2025]

Similarly, Director of Arab popular committees in the Triangle region of northern Israel, Sheikh Khairi Iskandar, an Israeli Arab citizen, stated that it is the Israeli government that is “behind every murder attempt, and behind every act of murder”:

Official PA TV host: “This year there has been an increase in murders and violence offenses against women in the Arab community [in Israel], bringing the total number of victims since the beginning of the year to 20 women.”

Director of Arab popular committees in the southern Triangle region of northern Israel Sheikh Khairi Iskandar: “We believe and assume that the [Israeli] government is behind every murder attempt, and behind every act of murder.”

[Official PA TV, Panorama, Nov. 25, 2025]

Palestinian Media Watch has shown that the PA as policy blames Israel for every internal problem in Palestinian society and within the Israeli Arab community in Israel. According to the PA, terror attacks and murder of Jews worldwide are Israel’s fault too, as was the Bondi massacre in Sydney.

The author is the Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.