The National Security Committee, chaired by MK Tzvika Foghel (Otzma Yehudit), held a debate on Wednesday on implementing the prime minister‘s decision to define criminal organizations as terrorist organizations.
On May 29, 2025, at the conclusion of a discussion of the Subcommittee on Advancing the Fight against Crime in the Arab Sector in Israel, the Prime Minister accepted the committee’s recommendation and instructed professional bodies to develop a structured legal framework for defining murderous criminal organizations as terrorist organizations.
committee chair MK Foghel said, “Defining a criminal organization as a terrorist tool will enable us to fight them in the most effective way. The quantities of weapons in the hands of criminal organizations in Arab society constitute a strategic threat to the State of Israel. My request to recognize criminal organizations as terrorist organizations was met with refusals, including from the Attorney General. We know how to fight terrorist organizations, but we do not know how to fight criminal organizations — this situation must be rectified through the necessary legislative amendments. The Prime Minister has stated that all necessary amendments must be made to define criminal organizations as terrorist organizations, and I am taking this on as my mission. I do not sleep quietly at night, and we must do everything necessary to stop the threat of criminal organizations in Arab society in the State of Israel.”
Adv. Roi Kahlon, head of the Bureau for Combating Crime in Arab Society, Prime Minister’s Office, said “The law enforcement system must be given the appropriate tools to fight the tsunami of criminal organizations in Arab society. We are seeing an evolution of these organizations: they are taking over areas within Arab society, seizing control of financial mechanisms in the community, and threatening public representatives in the Arab sector. If we do not stop the wave of crime, we will see a worsening of the activities of criminal organizations, including takeovers and murders of people within the legal system.”
MK Gilad Kariv (Labor) said, “If there are criminal organizations holding large quantities of weapons, the Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) should be involved. Currently, the Shin Bet’s hands are full dealing with terrorist organizations and much less — if at all — with criminal organizations. If the government decides that crime in Arab society is a top priority, we will see positive results on the ground.”
Brig. Gen. Moti Shiff, deputy head of the Israel Police’s Investigations and Intelligence Division, said “We are leading a major process of recruiting police officers and opening police stations in the Arab sector. In the Israel Police, we would be happy to receive more tools to help us in the fight against crime in Arab society, but we are not waiting — we are acting with all the tools currently available to us.”
In a written response to the committee, the Ministry of Justice stated: “In April 2025, the Legal Counsel and Legislative Affairs Department established a dedicated inter-ministerial team to map the legal barriers in dealing with organized crime and to formulate recommendations for legislative amendments — in particular, amendments to the Combating Criminal Organizations Law, 2003 — and its work is in advanced stages.”
A Likud candidate in Fureidis said, “They shot me 28 times just because I announced my candidacy for head of the Fureidis local council. There is a prepared case in the State Attorney’s Office regarding my incident and the criminal organization that targeted me, but nothing is moving forward. This case has been sitting in the State Attorney’s Office for a year and a half and is going nowhere. The party of the Minister of National Security and I do not agree on many things, but he helped me greatly throughout the process.”
Ministry of Justice official Keren Dahari said, “If we are going through the process of recognizing criminal organizations as terrorist organizations, we should very seriously consider recognizing victims of criminal organizations as victims of hostile acts.”
Lod Mayor Yair Revivo said, “I believe that the State of Israel has an interest in Israeli Arabs killing one another. The criminals are also killing innocent people, and I do not see the state doing what is necessary to stop this phenomenon. The state is failing to secure enough indictments. The murderers are increasing in number and strength, and they are not afraid of law enforcement authorities in Israel. Arab crime is nationalist crime and should be treated accordingly. Unfortunately, law enforcement leaders will wake up only when Arab crime reaches the city of Tel Aviv.”
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