Israeli Government Redirects Mansour Abbas Funds to Combat Crime in Arab Sector

Following investigative reports by Yishai Friedman on Channel 14 exposing the diversion of billions of shekels from the Arab sector's five-year development plan to armed crime organizations, the Israeli government announced a major initiative to fight rising crime in the Arab community. Hundreds of millions of shekels will be reallocated from Mansour Abbas's development program to strengthen enforcement and intelligence efforts by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Social Equality Minister May Golan, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir jointly declared the move, emphasizing that funds previously funneled to criminal groups will now be used to save lives. Netanyahu praised the escalation in the fight against crime, crediting Golan's leadership in securing the budget shift. Golan described the decision as historic, expressing gratitude for the Prime Minister's support in involving the Shin Bet in crime suppression.

Ben-Gvir highlighted that the redirected funds, originally allocated to Abbas's program but allegedly ending up with protection rackets and criminals, will now support security agencies combating offenders. Concurrently, Minister David Amsalem convened an emergency conference with representatives from the police, prosecution, tax authority, and government bodies to address core challenges such as extortion, control over public tenders, and damage to national infrastructure.

Amsalem stressed that the fight against crime must extend beyond street-level enforcement to economic arenas, warning that criminal organizations will not cease their activities without blocking their attempts to dominate public resources and infrastructure. The government aims to strengthen governance and prevent criminal entities from seizing state assets and public funds.