Israel Police are conducting a broad series of operations this week in northern Israel to combat the rise in organized crime within the Arab Israeli population.
The operations are being conducted in Sakhnin, Arrabe, Deir Hanna, Kafr Manda, and surrounding areas, in coordination with the Prime Minister’s Office’s Headquarters for Combating Crime in Arab Society, the Tax Authority, the State Attorney’s Office, the Shin Bet, government ministries, and civilian enforcement bodies.
So far, police have seized over 30 vehicles belonging to individuals who had accumulated tax-related debts worth tens of millions of shekels, in an effort to “cut off the economic oxygen supply of those who perpetrate crime on Arab streets,” according to the Tuesday report.
What is more, police have seized dozens of weapons during this operation, which were intended for criminal use in the Arab sector. These included pistols, rifles, and explosives.
Law enforcement officers also conducted raids on several businesses in northern Israel that were suspected of being involved with Arab-sector organized crime, as part of their plan of “focused economic enforcement.”
Teenager killed in Haifa marks 150th person murdered by violence in Arab sector in 2026
A 17-year-old child became the 150th person murdered in Israel’s Arab community in 2026 after he was shot in Haifa, Rambam Hospital announced on Saturday.
Wiaam Faisal, 17, and Jonathan Khouri, 18, died in a shooting in Haifa. A third young man was hospitalized and remains in serious condition.
At this point last year, through the beginning of July, 128 people were murdered by violence in the Arab sector, while the year before that, in 2024, “only” 230 Arab citizens were murdered in circumstances of violence and crime, making 2026 one of the most violent years.
The latest wave of killings comes just days after Police Commissioner Danny Levi convened an emergency meeting of the senior command staff. The meeting was called following a prior series of five murders in less than half a day in Tayibe, Kafr Qasim, Jaffa and Holon.
Yoav Etiel contributed to this report.
