The Israeli government is expected to decide this week on a move that may become one of the most damaging policy decisions in years: transferring billions of shekels from Resolution 550 — the five-year plan for the socio-economic development of Arab society — to the police and the Shin Bet. The proposal is being presented as a bold step in the fight against crime, but in practice it dismantles the only proven mechanism the state has for reducing the underlying roots of violence: poverty, limited opportunity, weak services, and decades of structural neglect.

Resolution 550 is not just another budget line: it is the most significant government investment in Arab society in a decade, one of the few that has delivered measurable results and a central pillar of social and economic stability. Destroying it now, a year before its planned completion, would undo years of progress and push Arab citizens — and Israel as a whole — in the opposite direction of security and prosperity.

The Resolution’s impact is clear. As detailed in the policy analysis by The Abraham Initiatives, 550 is a comprehensive system of investment across ministries — education, welfare, employment, transportation, water, industry, housing, and culture — with a remarkably high implementation rate compared to other government resolutions. It has raised........

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