Israeli Security Agency to Join Fight Against Crime in Arab Sector with New Funding

The Israeli government plans to allocate funds from a previous five-year plan budget to support new initiatives combating crime in the Arab community, involving both the police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency). Yossi Fox, the government secretary, announced in an internal email that up to 650 million shekels from the remaining 1.3 billion shekels of the prior government's budget (Decision 550 from Naftali Bennett's term) may be redirected for this purpose, though the exact amount is still being finalized.

This funding will enable Shin Bet to intensify its role specifically in tackling arms trafficking and smuggling, which partly supplies terror organizations. However, Shin Bet will not directly confront the criminal organizations themselves, a task that remains under police jurisdiction according to Israeli law. A senior government source clarified that Shin Bet's involvement is limited to weapons-related crime and will not replace police efforts against broader criminal activity.

Previously, Shin Bet resisted involvement in Arab sector crime due to concerns about compromising intelligence sources. The current shift includes establishing a dedicated unit within Shin Bet and employing invasive methods. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed determination to integrate Shin Bet into this fight, citing the urgent rise in violence and crime in the Arab sector as a national crisis.

Netanyahu announced in June 2023 plans for a special government meeting to coordinate Shin Bet's role alongside increased police budgets aimed at expanding law enforcement presence. The issue gained renewed attention following a shooting attack in Tzur Yigal that killed a reserve soldier, highlighting the need for Shin Bet to penetrate criminal networks to prevent terror incidents.

The initiative marks the first significant step toward Shin Bet's operational involvement in combating crime within the Arab community, focusing on arms trafficking rather than direct criminal enforcement, while police maintain primary responsibility for fighting crime overall.