From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 4, 2026
Cops shoot dead suspect in Bedouin town amid extended raid; Ben Gvir congratulates forces
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Amid the police’s extended raid in the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana in the Negev, cops shot dead a suspect while operating there tonight, Hebrew media reports.
The operation by a special police unit and Border Police is reportedly aimed at locating suspects in torching cars in nearby Jewish locales over the past few days as revenge for the police anti-crime raids.
Forces received intelligence about the location of one of the suspects, Channel 12 reports, citing an unnamed official familiar with the details. During the operation, the suspect charged at the cops, who felt they were in danger and shot at him.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who initiated the anti-crime raid and has vocally backed it, reacts by backing the troops who shot the suspect.
“I back the fighters who operated in Tarabin,” he tweets, congratulating them. “Whoever endangers our cops and fighters must be neutralized. The days in which cops were endangered and harmed without reaction are over.”
Critics have accused Ben Gvir of treating the raid similarly to anti-terror operations in the West Bank, while noting that violent crime in the Arab community — an issue on which the ultranationalist politician campaigned heavily ahead of the 2022 election — has surged to new heights during his tenure.
The Times of Israel Community.