Israeli organized crime

'Hijacked by criminal gangs': How gangs, weapons took over Israel's Arab streets

ARAB AFFAIRS: Gangs dominate Arab cities, violence has reached new heights, with daily murders and shootings. Fear and anxiety grip residents, with little hope for safety or justice.

MANY ILLEGAL weapons in the Arab community are stolen from Israeli army bases, while others are smuggled from the borders with Jordan and Egypt. Here, illegal weapons are displayed after a police operation against illegal gun dealers, in Nazareth in 2021.
Israeli security forces are seen at the scene where three men were shot dead by assassins in the city of Shefa-Amr, northern Israel, January 7, 2026.

It's time Israel recognizes Arab sector homicides as a national crisis - opinion

Israeli police arrested senior Bakri crime group members and municipal officials in Nazareth overnight in the “Maze of Money” case targeting extortion and money laundering on December 9th, 2025.

Lahav 433, Tax Authority arrest seven for suspected extortion, money laundering, tax fraud

Nidal Abu Latif, who was arrested in a major police operation earlier today, is brought for a court hearing at the Nazareth Magistrate's Court on February 8, 2023.

Prosecutors file intent to indict Abu Latif crime boss, others in ‘Prince’ extortion affair


12-year-old boy seriously injured in shooting in Jisr-e-Zarka

His cousin was shot dead by Israel Police forces while allegedly attempting to carry out a revenge shooting against the one who had fired at the boy earlier in the evening.

 The scene of a shooting incident in which a 12-year-old was seriously injured in Jisr e-Zarka, October 28, 2022

Israel has become a paradise for Palestinian car thieves - here's why:

There has been an alarming 155% rise in vehicle theft attempts in Israel so far in 2022, when compared with last year's numbers.

An Israeli solider looks at ID of a Palestinian man at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus January 10, 2018

Violence will stop only when it reaches Jewish areas - Arab Israelis

As the rate of violent crime - particularly homicide- rises in the Arab sector, the public demands action from authorities.

 POLICE AND MEDICAL personnel at the scene of the murder of a woman in Lod, last week.

Israeli crime boss Yossi Mosley arrested in Ben-Gurion Airport

Mosley is suspected of the murder of Avihai Vaknin, who was killed in February 2017, and of the attempted murders of the criminals Itzik Cohen and Yankal'e Amsalem.

 Israeli Underworld Kingpin Yossi Musli arrives for a court hearing at the Magistrate's Court in Tel Aviv on August 11, 2022

Alleged crime boss Shali Azoulay released from Polish prison on bail

Azoulay, 40, was arrested in October 2020 in Amsterdam, as he was wanted in Poland on suspicion of drug dealing. He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

 Extradition of Shalom-Lior "Shali" Azoulay to Poland in May 2021.

21 suspects arrested for money laundering in country-wide police raid

A covert investigation that had been ongoing for months ended on Monday morning after a number of police and Tax Authority investigative units raided dozens of businesses.

Lahav 433

Mafia boss Shumi Isakov, son, killed in shooting in Israel's North

Isakov had survived a previous attempt on his life in 2004, when unidentified assailants opened fire on him, his younger brother and another individual.

 SCENE OF THE SHOOTING OF MAFIA BOSS SHUMI IZAKOV IN KIRYAT MOTZKIN

'Arab cities are run by gangs, and the police don't care'

Sada suspects that some police officers may work in cahoots with crime lords. "Whenever we call the police, they come only after the criminals have had enough time to clean their tracks."

 Protesters clash with Israeli police forces after a shop was demolished by Israeli authorities in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan, on June 29, 2021.

Police not doing enough to combat surge in violent crime - Israeli Arabs

The Israel Police are not doing enough to combat violent crime in the Arab sector, Arab Israelis said on Sunday after four more people were killed in the past 48 hours.

A demonstrator holds a sign reading "their pain is the responsibility of all of us," as Jewish and Arab Israelis protest in Tel Aviv against police inaction, the surging crime and violence in Arab communities  on March 13, 2021.

Police take down leading gang with help of undercover agent

Israel Police took down a gang with the help of a prominent member they had recruited.

Man in handcuffs - illustrative