Police are launching a far-reaching operation to crack down on arms trafficking and violent crime in Bedouin communities in the Negev, law enforcement announces.
The so-called New Order operation commences in the wake of a deadly shooting in Rahat on Thursday that left two dead, among them a teenage boy.
Police say the initiative is focused on “restoring governance in the region, locating stolen military weapons and ammunition, identifying suspects involved in shooting incidents within the Bedouin community, and intensifying traffic enforcement along major routes.”
Officers have arrested nine suspects so far as part of the operation, police add.
Violent crime in the Negev, driven by weapons smuggling and theft from nearby army bases, has spiralled in recent years.
Rahat mayor Talal al-Kernawi has bemoaned the rise of shootings in the city, calling weapons a “cancer.”
“We must do everything to remove weapons from the city so the people will have security,” he told Ynet in the wake of Thursday’s shooting.
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