Netanyahu again pledges to employ Shin Bet in fight against organized crime in Arab towns

Illustrative: Police at the scene of a shooting in the central Arab city of Tira, August 21, 2023. (Israel Police)
Illustrative: Police at the scene of a shooting in the central Arab city of Tira, August 21, 2023. (Israel Police)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again pledges to employ the Shin Bet security agency as part of the government’s effort to combat organized crime in Arab communities.

Netanyahu and far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have made such pledges in the past but have yet to fulfill them amid pushback from the Shin Bet and leaders of Arab communities.

The call comes in a statement issued in response to last night’s killing of Tira municipality director Abed Rahman Kashua.

In a separate incident on Monday, a man in his 30s was shot dead in the northern town of Reineh.

The deaths Monday brought the number of fatalities linked to criminal violence in Israel’s Arab community to 152 since the start of the year, mostly in shootings. During the same time frame last year, 68 were killed.

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