Ben Gvir calls on Shin Bet to launch operation alongside police in southern Bedouin town

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls on the Shin Bet to start operating in Tarabin al-Sana, a southern Bedouin town that has been subject to a days-long police raid.

He also threatens to “thrash” criminals in the town.

Last night, cars were set alight in Lehavim, a nearby Jewish town, in what police suspect was an act of revenge arson by Bedouin residents amid the ongoing crackdown.

Speaking to reporters at the entrance to the village, he claims that the new Shin Bet chief, David Zini, agrees with him that the incident is “terror in every sense.”

Hundreds of police entered the Bedouin town Monday, following a similar arson incident in Giv’ot Bar and Mishmar Hanegev.

He says that there has been a “change” since Zini began leading the security agency. “The Shin Bet now goes down to the Negev and operates in towns like these, but I want the Shin Bet and police to be here 100%,” he declares.

Ben Gvir on another "governance tour" in Tarabin al-Sana amid days-long police raid on Bedouin town pic.twitter.com/lHsM1TJrg7

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He says that criminals have only one option, “to raise a white flag” amid the ongoing operation. “I don’t intend to blink,” he says. “I say to everyone who is law-abiding, there is nothing to fear, but to everyone who isn’t law-abiding, we will thrash you.”

Under heavy security, the far-right minister tours the town, flanked by members of the National Guard, a force within the Border Police.