Police snipers deployed in Bedouin city in attempt to curb rising gun violence

With nearly 200 Arabs killed in crime-related incidents this year, security source in Rahat calls unusual measure a temporary solution, says arrests are more effective

By ToI Staff Today, 2:54 pm

Edit

A handout image from the Israel Police shows snipers on a rooftop in the Bedouin city of Rahat, November 13, 2026. (Israel Police)

In an unusual move, the Israel Police said Friday that it had stationed snipers on the rooftops of Rahat, a Bedouin city in southern Israel, in an effort to stop persistent gunfire and violence in the area.

Police said that one of the snipers’ roles will be to “neutralize” any gunmen who open fire in the city.

The snipers took position after heavy daytime gunfire was heard in Rahat over the past month, and after police found many weapons caches in the area. The violence prompted calls to police.

“For a month, we experienced clashes in three areas involving six families, and two young people were murdered,” said Rahat Mayor Talal al-Kernawi, according to Haaretz. “In recent days there has been nonstop gunfire that is endangering the lives of innocent civilians who are not involved in the conflicts.”

Kernawi said that residents had turned to the municipality seeking personal security, prompting it to ask the police commissioner and district commander to intervene. Police then deployed additional forces and technological equipment, including a helicopter, and the shooting “almost completely stopped,” he said, adding that deterring illegal gunfire and protecting residents was the police’s duty.

Police said that “forces from the southern district are working to find criminal elements and bring them to justice in order to reduce the shooting incidents.”

Cars enter a roundabout by a billboard featuring National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, head of the Otzma Yehudit party, and a message in Arabic that reads, “We demolished 5,700 homes in the Negev, and I will demolish more and more of them,” November 3, 2026, following the country’s general election in the Bedouin city of Rahat, southern Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A local security source told Haaretz the heightened police presence was welcomed “if it prevents the shooting for a few days,” but stressed that it was only a temporary solution.

“There’s no guarantee the shooting won’t return after the police leave,” he said. “The approach has to change, and arrests are better and more effective, because a sniper won’t stay there for more than three days.”

According to the Abraham Initiatives group, nearly 200 Arabs have been killed in Israel since the beginning of the year, continuing an upward trend from 2025, when a record of 252 people lost their lives in crime-related killings.

Thousands attend a protest against organized crime in the Arab community and call on the state to do more to stop it, in Tel Aviv. January 31, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

The homicide rate in Arab society doubled in 2023 and continued to rise in the years following, save for a short dip in 2024, before rising again in 2025.

The massive uptick, which coincided with the start of Itamar Ben Gvir’s term as national security minister, has alarmed Arab community leaders, many of whom attribute the sharp rise to ineffectiveness — if not outright negligence — of law enforcement.