Published: 13 June 2023
Last updated: 5 March 2024
Organised crime sweeps Israel's Arab community; Netanyahu sparks alarm over proposal to use Shin Bet security forces to control the violence.
Since 2023 began, 102 Arab citizens have been murdered in Israel – an unprecedented figure and more than three times the number for the same period of 2022.
The murders are the result of warring organised crime families and came to a head, with 18 murders over the past two weeks, 10 of them within two days.
Another attack was averted when police arrested three people suspected of plotting a murder outside a hospital in northern Israel on Sunday.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the Shin Bet security service to be called in to combat organised crime in the Arab community.
The idea was raised at a meeting between police and politicians at Netanyahu’s office last week.
But Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar warned that diverting the organisation's resources to combatting crime in the Arab community will have negative effects on the fight against terrorism.
Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Prosecutor Amit Aisman also presented concerns that Shin Bet involvement would violate the rights of Arab citizens.
National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz has sharply criticised Netanyahu’s failure to address the problem and said National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was not competent to handle the problem.
He said a full national mobilisation was necessary to address the issue, including “sufficient funding, attention to strategy and proper management,” and warned that “anyone who thinks the violence of criminal gangs will remain limited” to the Arab community is misguided.
What is causing the violence?
