Israeli city helping Arabs in fits and starts (5)
I believe the answer is:
haifa
'israeli city' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'helping arabs in fits and starts' is the wordplay.
'starts' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letters of 'helping arabs in fits and' is 'HAIFA'.
(Other definitions for haifa that I've seen before include "Mediterranean port" , "Israeli city" , "Middle East city" , "Seaside city" , "Port of N. Israel" .)