Police say they arrested 45 Bedouins over the weekend amid attempted crackdown on crime epidemic

Law enforcement arrested 45 suspects in the Negev over the weekend, as part of a sweeping operation to combat crime in southern Bedouin towns, police say.

In a statement summing up this past weekend, police say Southern District officers raided a home in Tel Sheva and arrested four suspects who tried to prevent officers from searching the premises. Police found and seized parts of stolen army-grade weapons, drugs and tens of thousands of shekels, they add.

Further east, in Hura, police quelled a brawl that broke out between feuding families in the town, raiding two homes and arresting seven suspects. Bad blood had existed between the families for several years due to the murder of a teenage relative, but recently resurfaced after a dispute between children from the rival clans.

Police also seized a drone carrying weapons and ammunition during their operation, likely part of an arms smuggling attempt. The nine handguns and 19 magazines were dealt with by police sappers, law enforcement says.

Operation “New Order,” which aims to crack down on illegal weapons possession, violent crime and traffic violations in the Negev, was launched three weeks ago by order of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and police chief Danny Levy.

The operation has frustrated many Bedouin residents and local politicians, who say that police are going over their heads in the fight against crime and conducting indiscriminate, aggressive raids that so far have not managed to deter surging violence in the area.

Since the start of the year, 238 Arab Israelis have been killed in violent incidents, in what is on track to be the most deadly year for Arab society to date.

Many have blamed Ben Gvir, who oversees police, for failing to stamp out violent crime, an issue he heavily campaigned about ahead of the last election. When he took office in 2023, the annual homicide rate in Arab society doubled from its previous years.

Last weekend saw 44 suspects arrested in the New Order operation, police said at the time.

Police also announced later last week that over 40 indictments had been filed against suspects arrested in the operation, though they did not specify on which charges.