For the past week, though, the government has subjected the town to a large-scale police raid, spearheaded by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, following a wave of arson attacks in neighboring Jewish towns thought to have been carried out by residents of Tarabin.<\/p>\n
Police have said the raid, part of the larger New Order operation, is meant to stem illegal weapons smuggling and violent crime, but the results so far seem to be relatively meager.<\/p>\n
\t Earlier this week, the Al-Qassum Regional Council filed a petition to the High Court of Justice<\/a> urging it to order an end to the raid and the removal of the concrete barriers blocking the backroads as well as the main entrance into Tarabin.<\/p>\n \u201cWould [Ben Gvir or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] close off Jewish cities in the way they are closing off Tarabin al-Sana?\u201d questioned former Hadash MK Yousef al-Atouneh. \u201cIt cannot be the case that there is a separate police force for Arabs and Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n The roadblocks, Ben Gvir claims, are for the good of law-abiding citizens. Residents reject this, asserting that the concrete barriers amount to collective punishment and have obstructed their ability to live normal lives. The heavy police presence and frequent arrest raids are also meant to restore public safety, Ben Gvir says, though many wonder whose safety he means.<\/p>\n On the same week that criminal violence claimed a dozen lives in Arab towns in northern Israel, Tarabin\u2019s sole killing came at the hands of a police officer, who fatally shot 36-year-old Muhammad Hussein Tarabin on his doorstep.<\/p>\n \t The shooting, which occurred during an operation to track down arson suspects by a \u201cspecial\u201d police unit and Border Police\u2019s controversial National Guard force, has become a focal point for Bedouin and other Arabs already unnerved by Ben Gvir\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n In the killing\u2019s wake, Arab politicians have called for an immediate halt to the police operation in Tarabin al-Sana and demanded Netanyahu sack Ben Gvir, turning what had been a local issue into a national one.<\/p>\n \u2018Third class\u2019<\/p>\n Tarabin\u2019s killing has become symbolic of what much of Arab society \u2014 from its leading politicians to ordinary citizens \u2014 views as an attempt by the government, particularly Ben Gvir, to erode their rights as Israelis.<\/p>\n The slain man, a father of seven who worked as a plumber, hadn\u2019t said a word to police before one of them opened fire at his chest, his family said.<\/p>\n Police claimed that Tarabin posed a threat, but did not detail the accusations. According to i24 news, the officer said Tarabin was holding an object that could be used as a weapon. The family says that he was not armed in any way.<\/p>\n According to his eldest son, Hussein, after shooting his father forces continued searching their house rather than calling for an ambulance, washed his blood from the floor and then whisked Tarabin\u2019s body away in their vehicle.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard someone knock on the door, my dad opened the door, he didn\u2019t talk to them or anything, and they shot him in the chest,\u201d the young boy said.<\/p>\n \t Police had raided the home of Tarabin\u2019s older brother, Ahmad, before coming to Muhammad\u2019s home. Officers put a sack over Ahmad\u2019s head, handcuffed him and took him outside. While lying on the ground outside, he heard a knock on his younger brother\u2019s door, his wife screaming from inside the house, then police forces shouting that someone had been injured.<\/p>\n Law enforcement declined to express remorse over the incident, insisting that Tarabin was a suspect in the torching of cars last month, which they claimed was a nationalistically motivated \u201cprice tag\u201d attack in revenge for an earlier police operation in search of a stolen horse.<\/p>\n Around a thousand people joined in an aggrieved funeral procession Monday at noon. After praying in the mosque, anguished mourners marched to the graveyard atop a hill, chanting \u201cGod is great\u201d and reciting the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith.<\/p>\n The crowd went silent once they reached Tarabin\u2019s empty plot. Pallbearers lowered the coffin, draped in red and gold cloth, into the earth.<\/p>\n \t After the burial, Habis al-Atouneh, the mayor of the nearby town of Hura, spoke to the mourners kneeling on the ground, calling it a \u201cdark day for the Negev, and a dark day in the history of Israel\u2019s police force.\u201d<\/p>\n Long after most attendees had gone back down the hill, Tarabin\u2019s sons and other male relatives remained next to his freshly dug grave.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not even second-class anymore, we\u2019re third-class,\u201d remarked one mourner following Tarabin\u2019s funeral, as he trudged back down the dirt road from the village cemetery.<\/p>\n No longer a local issue<\/p>\n The shooting shook not only Bedouin society, but sparked outrage from Arab politicians tied to the more urbanized, middle-class Arab communities in central and northern Israel.<\/p>\n Chief among these voices has been longtime Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi, who heads the Ta\u2019al party. The acid-tongued Tibi accused police of acting like a \u201cmafia,\u201d echoing the family\u2019s claims that officers had tampered with evidence at the scene.<\/p>\n \t \u201cWhat did they do afterwards? They bring a team, clean the scene, clean up the blood, whitewash the evidence,\u201d he alleged during a conference at the Givat Haviva center Tuesday. \u201cThis is how a mafia behaves, not the police.\u201d<\/p>\n Though police have not responded to a request for comment, the agency\u2019s top spokesman Aryeh Doron strongly rejected the claim. The Department of Internal Police Investigations would not comment on whether investigators suspect police obstruction, but noted there are several other suspects in the case. Asked for a response, police declined to comment on the family\u2019s allegation.<\/p>\n Tibi also condemned police\u2019s bolstered presence in the Negev since mid-November,<\/a> part of Operation New Order, a controversial crackdown announced to stamp out arms smuggling, violent crime and traffic violations in Bedouin society.<\/p>\n \t Though Tarabin al-Sana has become the face of the operation due to the extended incursion, army-style raids have taken place in other towns including Lakiya, Tel Sheva, Segev Shalom and Hura. Roadblocks were placed at entrances to the first two towns in December, but later removed in Tel Sheva.<\/p>\n Tibi noted that despite the stereotype of Bedouin towns as high-crime areas, southern Israel saw a relatively low number of homicides in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThe largest number of murders in Arab society isn\u2019t in the Negev, it\u2019s in the center, it\u2019s in the north. But it\u2019s sexier to talk about \u2018governance\u2019 in the Negev,\u201d he said, using a buzzword for law and order that is often used by right-wing nationalists like Ben Gvir.<\/p>\n While most of the record 252 violent killings in the Arab community last year occurred in northern Israel, the south still saw 35 murders, though none were in Tarabin.<\/p>\n \t The amount of violent crime in Bedouin society is still higher than in Jewish society. Even before Ben Gvir, police had long struggled to deal with what they described as endemic reckless driving, rampant theft, widespread gun-running, and clan feuds that can erupt into rashes of deadly violence in poverty-stricken Bedouin communities across the south.<\/p>\n But despite the hundreds of officers enlisted in the raid, the actual achievements have so far been scant. As of Wednesday evening, law enforcement had confiscated two handguns and two rifles, handed out 808 traffic fines and issued 53 demolition orders for illegal construction in Tarabin al-Sana over the course of the operation, police said.<\/p>\n Few are confident that the police operations are the answer, with many seeing the heavy police presence as a form of political muscle-flexing mainly meant to impress Jewish residents of nearby towns.<\/p>\n \t \u201cWe are seeing the incitement, the shows of power that are being done on the streets of Arab towns. It doesn\u2019t serve any sort of security,\u201d said Taleb al-Sana, a former Knesset lawmaker from the Bedouin town of Lakiya, who was in Tarabin for the funeral.<\/p>\n Ben Gvir has toured the village several times since the raid began last week. Al-Sana called Ben Gvir the \u201cantithesis of the rule of law\u201d and claimed he had staged visits to the village solely to \u201cset the area on fire\u2026 This is his role, this is his career over the course of his entire life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Shows of power\u2019<\/p>\n Two days after the police raid was launched on December 29, residents of the nearby Jewish town of Lehavim woke up to find that five more cars had been torched at a gas station there overnight.<\/p>\n Police insisted the arsons were a revenge operation by the same gang from Tarabin, but residents of the upscale town cast doubt on the notion it was nationalistically motivated<\/a>, since the establishment had been targeted several times in the past.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Ben Gvir rushed down to Tarabin al-Sana within hours. Flanked by heavy security, he said that criminals had only one option: \u201cto raise a white flag.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf need be, I\u2019ll come here another 20 times. The police will be here, and the National Guard will be here. When we enter, you can see that all these criminals are cowardly,\u201d he said to the press. \u201cTo everyone who is law-abiding, there is nothing to fear, but to everyone who isn\u2019t law-abiding, we will thrash you.\u201d<\/p>\n \t The minister proceeded to walk through the village, flanked by his personal security detail and dozens of National Guard officers, who not only cleared the way for him but fanned out to houses he happened to pass by on the street.<\/p>\n After a short while, the whole posse, trailed by a gaggle of reporters, traipsed into what appeared to be a random backyard. The homeowner, a shepherd named Nasser Tarabin, came out of his house to see over a dozen armed officers standing around a flock of bleating sheep and his scraggly dog, who was chained to a fence.<\/p>\n One of the officers questioned him for a short time, inquiring where he grazes his flock and whether his dog was vaccinated. He then took leave of Nasser, joining Ben Gvir and the rest of the forces as they returned to the road.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were looking for a mistake, but they couldn\u2019t find one,\u201d Nasser told The Times of Israel afterward. Sipping tea from a small paper cup, he was joined by his neighbor, Ahmad Tarabin, and his young children, who came to see what the commotion was. (Ahmad was not the same Ahmad Tarabin whose home was raided Saturday. Most members of the village hail from the Tarabin tribe and share the same last name.)<\/p>\n \t Ahmad, a father of five who lives on unemployment benefits, told The Times of Israel that police had ransacked his house two nights prior during a search. A day later, he had to take his sick daughter to a doctor \u2014 since the local clinic closed down during the raid \u2014 and complained about the spot checks he was subjected to when coming in and out of the village.<\/p>\n Another resident, 24-year-old Hamed Tarabin, said National Guard officers go out on patrols in the middle of the night, sometimes blasting music from loudspeakers that wake up residents.<\/p>\n Like many others in their village, both Nasser and Ahmad had voted for Likud in the previous elections, but now, they won\u2019t vote for any party. \u201cHe [Netanyahu] won\u2019t get anything from me, good riddance,\u201d vowed Nasser.<\/p>\n Hamed, meanwhile, did not vote.<\/p>\n Abu Yair<\/p>\n Though Ben Gvir is the driving force behind the operation in Tarabin al-Sana, Bedouin leaders who visited the town last week to condemn the operation also assigned blame to Netanyahu, urging him to step in and put an end to the crackdown.<\/p>\n In 2021, Netanyahu visited Tarabin seeking the town\u2019s support. Deep in the latest of a series of election campaigns that had seen him struggle to break a stalemate with Zionist politicians who refused to ally with him due to his graft indictments, Netanyahu had made the strategic decision to try to tap into a new source of votes: Arabs.<\/p>\n Touring cities and towns across the country under the nickname \u201cAbu Yair,\u201d Netanyahu, who had once warned supporters of \u201cArabs voting in droves,\u201d now attempted to woo the community by presenting himself as a friend and someone who would help revitalize their communities rather than as a race-baiter.<\/p>\n After visiting Tarabin and other Arab towns in the Negev that March, he posted a photo of himself sitting and drinking coffee with five Bedouin sheikhs. He captioned the picture: \u201cCoffee with friends.\u201d<\/p>\n \t On election day that year, the majority of the town\u2019s residents (65%) turned out for Likud, after having swung toward the Arab Joint List in previous years. The trend continued into the 2022 elections, but dipped slightly, with 59% casting their ballot for the right-wing party.<\/p>\n Given Tarabin al-Sana\u2019s small size, the shift had little bearing on Netanyahu\u2019s success, but his short-lived campaign for Arab support was not forgotten in Bedouin society.<\/p>\n Speaking in a tent used for official business in Tarabin al-Sana, Rahat Mayor Talal Alkernawi\u00a0 \u2014 who heads Israel\u2019s largest Bedouin city \u2014 held up a picture of Netanyahu being hosted in the village nearly five years ago and demanded the premier intervene in the operation.<\/p>\n \u201cHere in this country there is a prime minister, and I understand that he is busy, but he was here!\u201d he said, pointing to the image.<\/p>\n \u201cHe sat here and said he had \u2018coffee with friends.\u2019 Are we friends, Abu Yair?\u201d he asked bitterly.<\/p>\n \t Netanyahu was back in the Negev on Wednesday, but this time there would be no coffee with friendly sheikhs. Instead, the premier joined Ben Gvir and\u00a0threw his support behind the operation<\/a>, dashing residents\u2019 hopes that he might restrain the national security minister.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Negev is out of control. We will rein it in, and an important operation by the Israel Police has already begun, in conjunction with other forces,\u201d he said, vowing to \u201creturn the Negev to the State of Israel\u201d by bolstering settlement in the desert region.<\/p>\n Alkernawi wasn\u2019t there to greet Netanyahu. Instead he was in Jerusalem with President Isaac Herzog, who held a hastily organized meeting with Jewish and Bedouin leaders Wednesday aimed at cooling tensions and finding ways to crack down on deadly crime.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC09490.jpg\")
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\n\t\tNational Guard fighters and other Border Police forces stand at the entrance to the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana, which has been closed off with cinderblocks, on December 31, 2025. (Charlie Summers\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Untitled-3-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tMuhammad Hussein Tarabin, 36, who was killed by police during a raid on the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana overnight on January 4, 2026. (Courtesy\/Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages of the Negev)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC09875.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tPallbearers carry the coffin of Muhammad Hussein Tarabin, who was shot and killed by police in his home, during his funeral procession on January 5, 2026. (Charlie Summers\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC09971.jpg\")
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\n\t\tThe children of Muhammad Hussein Tarabin, a Bedouin man who was killed by police gunfire in the Negev town of Tarabin al-Sana, stand by his grave after he is laid to rest in the village on January 5, 2026. (Charlie Summers\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/F260105YS228.jpg\")
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\n\t\tMK Ahmad Tibi speaks at a Hadash-Ta\u2019al faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 5, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/F251228DG03-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tPolice raid the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana, in southern Israel, December 28, 2025. (Dudu Greenspan\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/000_8U29E-e1458314390352-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tFile: This file photo taken on February 7, 2016 shows Israeli Arab Bedouin children of the Tarabin tribe playing in their unrecognized Bedouin village next to the Dudaim dump site (background), the biggest landfill in Israel near the city of Rahat in southern Israel. (Menahem Kahana\/AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC09683.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tOfficers in Border Police\u2019s National Guard force approach a man on the street in Tarabin al-Sana on December 31, 2025. (Charlie Summers\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC09567.jpg\")
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\n\t\tNational Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks to reporters as he tours the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana in southern Israel on December 31, 2025. (Charlie Summers\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_5789.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tNasser (left) and Ahmad (center) Tarabin, along with Ahmad\u2019s son, Adam, sit and drink tea in the southern village of Tarabin al-Sana on December 31, 2025. (Charlie Summers\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/WhatsApp-Image-2021-03-07-at-2.17.57-PM.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the southern Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana on March 7, 2021. (Courtesy)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC09761.jpeg\")
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\n\t\tRahat Mayor Talal Alkernawi holds up an image of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting Tarabin al-Sana, a Bedouin village subject that has been subject a weeklong raid by police, on December 31, 2025. (Charlie Summers\/Times of Israel)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/tarabin1-640x400.jpeg\")
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