Ben Gvir heading to southern Israel following reports of heavy gunfire in Negev area

By Charlie Summers

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17 November 2025, 1:44 am

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National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is traveling to southern Israel following reports of heavy gunfire, heard coming from two Bedouin locales in the Negev.

In a video recorded late at night, Ben Gvir says that he will first head to Carmit, whose residents reported the gunfire, then south to Lakiya, an adjacent Bedouin town.

The far-right minister alleges that the gunfire in Lakiya is retaliation for the police’s seizure of mosque loudspeakers earlier this month.

“Police enforced the law on noise from mosques, and in response, some criminals there began to fire in the air — they think they will deter us,” he claims in the video from his car.

Shots were also heard further south in Retamim, coming from the Bedouin town Bir Hadaj. He is set to travel there after touring Karmit and Lakiya.

In his video, he touts home demolitions carried out in Bedouin areas on his watch, saying that over five thousand illegally-built houses have been destroyed this year.

He says police are also cracking down on gunfire at weddings. “We brought in the national guard… we are not allowing these sorts of weddings to go on, and taking many other actions that are aggravating the rioters,” he adds.

Weapons trafficking in the Negev has been fueling violent crime in the region for years now, particularly in Bedouin locales. Earlier this evening in Bir Hadaj, an 18-year-old resident of the town was seriously wounded in a shooting.