Police investigating possible arson after 5 cars burst into flames in south

Fives cars went up in flames overnight in a parking lot in Lehavim, a Jewish town in the Negev, in what police are investigating as an arson attack.

Police say the incident is a “price tag” operation by Bedouin Israelis seeking revenge for an ongoing anti-crime raid by police in the nearby town of Tarabin al-Sana. “Price tag” attacks generally refer to attacks by Israeli West Bank settlers in retaliation for Palestinian violence or Israel’s evacuating illegal outposts.

Firefighting squads were called to the scene in Lehavim at around 2 a.m. and extinguished the blazes near the town’s entrance. No injuries were reported.

The incident comes after days of clashes between law enforcement and Bedouin residents in Tarabin al-Sana.

The raid was launched in the wake of a similar arson incident in the Jewish localities of Giv’ot Bar and Mishmar Hanegev, also nearby, in which masked assailants thought to be from the nearby Bedouin town vandalized dozens of cars and set fire to at least two.

That vandalism appeared to be revenge for an earlier police raid, as law enforcement ramps up its presence in the Negev as part of a far-reaching operation to crack down on criminal activity in Bedouin society.

A senior police official says “the rules have changed” for Bedouin towns in the Negev.

“They don’t understand that they won’t frighten us; we will intensify the measures,” he asserts.

Police have cordoned off Tarabin al-Sana with cinderblocks and arrested at least 27 people, including four minors, as part of the raid.

The heightened police activity had rattled locals, who consider the operation an attempt to impose collective punishment on the village for the actions of a handful of criminals.