Police cap off raid in Negev Bedouin town, remove ad hoc checkpoints, amid High Court case

Police have cleared out most of their forces from the southern Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana and removed concrete roadblocks from its entrances after over a week of raids there.

Law enforcement, led by the Border Police’s National Guard force, staged a forceful and controversial raid on the village lasting 12 days, after the police said masked men thought to be from the town were set fire to cars in nearby Jewish towns.

The operation took a lethal turn a week ago, when an officer fatally shot a man on his doorstep. Police said the man posed a threat to officers, but his family denies the claim. The officer is under investigation.

After deploying hundreds of officers in the town, police say they arrested over 30 people, some of whom are suspected of weapons offenses. Officers also seized four rifles, two handguns, hand grenades and stun grenades.

Last week, local leaders petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding an end to the enforcement operations and claiming that the concrete blocks placed at the town’s entrances amounted to collective punishment for the actions of a handful of criminals.

Speaking to The Times of Israel, village council head Abdelbassat Tarabin claims that police cut their operation short for fear that judges would strike down the new, controversial practice of sealing off Arab Israeli towns.

While common in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the practice was seldom used against Israeli citizens until mid-November, when National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declared a sweeping anti-crime operation in Negev Bedouin locales.

As part of the operation, dubbed New Order, police say they are shifting their focus to other Bedouin towns, namely Lakiya, Tel Sheva and Arara Banegev, where a 20-year-old medical student was gunned down last week.

Before the raid on Tarabin, police placed roadblocks in Lakiya and Tel Sheva, which have since been removed.

“Forces are prepared to provide the ‘Tarabin package’ for any conflict that arises, and with even greater strength,” says Southern District commander Haim Boublil in a statement, adding that police consider the raid a success and plan to replicate it in other Bedouin towns.

Police say there has been a 50 percent decrease in shooting incidents in the nearby areas of Carmit, Meitar and Tel Sheva since the launch of the New Order operation.