Police say 13 arrested today as part of probe into crime family’s hold on Nazareth municipality

Police say they have arrested 13 suspects since going public this morning with an investigation into the Bakri crime family’s suspected hold over the Nazareth municipality.

Hundreds of officers raided sites in the city linked to the criminal organization overnight, arresting members of the group as well as current and former municipal officials, including an ex-mayor.

The officials are suspected of having helped in the transfer of large sums of money to members of the criminal gang, to the detriment of the city and its residents. Police said earlier that the gang “took over the financial management of the municipality.”

This morning, officers continued their operations in Nazareth, searching and collecting evidence from municipal offices in the so-called “Money Maze” case, overseen by Northern District police’s investigative unit. Officers have also seized several luxury cars, as well as bank accounts and real estate assets estimated to be worth tens of millions of shekels, police say.

The Department of Internal Police Investigations revealed today that the ongoing probe into Deputy Commissioner Manny Binyamin, the head of the Lahav 433 major crimes unit, is linked to the Bakri case.

Investigators suspect the senior police officer maintained personal ties with Nazareth’s former mayor while he was under criminal investigation, putting him into a conflict of interest that he never reported to relevant authorities.

Police raid Nazareth’s city hall in a large-scale operation following an undercover probe into the Bakri crime family’s suspected sway over municipal officials on December 10, 2025. (Israel Police)