National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir again staged a visit to the embattled Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana to “strengthen” police forces on Tuesday, as they continued a days-long anti-crime raid there.
Police announced that the National Guard force in the Border Police assumed responsibility for the ongoing raid. Law enforcement continued to patrol the streets and maintained the haphazard, cinderblock checkpoints cordoning off the village.
Standing on the edge of the town, Ben Gvir gave an ad hoc pep talk to heavily armed police and Border Police forces, who have been operating in the area since Monday.
“It should be clear to everyone, if you aren’t in Tarabin [al-Sana], there is no more Giv’ot Bar, Carmit, Meitar or Nevatim,” he told police, referring to Jewish towns in the surrounding area.
He described the ongoing operation as a “war” that had yet to be won, and warned that if not nipped in the bud, crime in Bedouin society would soon spread to Jewish areas throughout the Negev.
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“Film yourselves so you can show it to your grandchildren, another 20, 30, 40 years from now. We fought here for our home,” he said. “This is not a war that we can finish in one day… There are ups and downs.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks to police forces at the entrance to Tarabin al-Sana, a Bedouin town in the Negev, during a days-long raid in the village on December 30, 2025. (Office of Itamar Ben Gvir)
The developments come as violent crime has surged to record heights during Ben Gvir’s three years as national security minister, with the issue downplayed by the ultranationalist minister until recently.
As of Tuesday evening, police carried out a total of 24 arrests in the town, including four minors on suspicion of throwing stones. Officers handed out 87 traffic fines and issued 23 demolition orders for houses in the Bedouin village, police added.
The raid came days after four masked assailants thought to be from Tarabin al-Sana went out and vandalized dozens of cars in the nearby Jewish towns Giv’ot Bar and Mishmar Hanegev, setting at least two on fire overnight Friday.
The vandalism appeared to be a “revenge” operation by Bedouin residents after police conducted searches for a stolen horse in Tarabin al-Sana earlier last week.
Security camera footage shows two masked individuals setting fire to vehicles in Giv’ot Bar, a Jewish town in the Negev, overnight on December 27, 2025. (Screenshot/X)
Three suspects were arrested within 24 hours of the vandalism incident, a police spokesman told The Times of Israel. Nevertheless, law enforcement continued to operate in the town and launched a massive raid Monday with Ben Gvir’s backing.
Deputy Commissioner Nachshon Nagler, the commander of Border Police’s National Guard force, told Haaretz on Tuesday that the operation was a “message” to residents that “you can’t do price tag operations.”
“We are checking vehicles to catch criminals and illegal weapons, and to catch those who are extorting protection money here in Beersheba and other places,” he said to the outlet. “They [the residents] should be happy.”
Police and Border Police officers operating in the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana, as part of a days-long crackdown in the southern village on December 30, 2025. (Israel Police)
However, most residents were not particularly pleased with the operation, with many characterizing it as an attempt to impose collective punishment on the entire village.
Munder Tarabin, a resident of the town, told Channel 12 news that police “passed between houses, threw stun grenades and tear gas, frightened everyone, then disappeared.”
“This isn’t governance, this is thuggery and racism,” he said, asserting that the police’s response to the vandalism was overblown. “If there are suspects, judge them harshly. But it was two cars that were set on fire in Giv’ot Bar, and they are closing off an entire town.”
“With the murders in Arab society that occur every Monday and Thursday, we don’t see the minister come and we don’t see this sort of encirclement,” he said. “They only leverage governance against Bedouins. We’ve lived here for years next to our neighbors, we aren’t dangerous people — but if Ben Gvir wants to create racism, he will also reap the results.”
Police reportedly arrested several children less than 12 years old, the age of criminal responsibility, on suspicion of stone-throwing. Khalaf, a village resident, told Haaretz that his eight-year-old son and 10-year-old nephew were both nabbed by officers while standing near the house.
Other parents whose kids were arrested told the left-wing outlet that they tried going to the Rahat police station to figure out where their children were, but officers refused to divulge any information.
Since mid-November, police have been upping their presence in Bedouin areas of the Negev as part of a far-reaching enforcement campaign against violent crime, arms smuggling and traffic violations, spearheaded by Ben Gvir and police chief Danny Levy.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and police chief Danny Levy attend a ceremony at the Israel Police headquarters in Jerusalem, November 30, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The operation, dubbed New Order, has seen around a dozen raids on towns throughout the Negev, including Tarabin al-Sana, Lakiya, Tel Sheva and Hura. By and large, Bedouin residents have not received the raids well, and many have lamented that the police’s enforcement tactics are eroding their rights as Israeli citizens.
Police did not elaborate on the precise objective of the operation in Tarabin al-Sana but said they aimed to “strengthen governance, enforce the rule of law and provide a sharp and clear response to any attempt at serious criminal activity.”
In a statement announcing the raid Monday, police vowed that the operation would continue for “as long as necessary.”
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