The leadership of the Federation of Local Authorities, headed by Chairman Haim Bibas, held a special emergency discussion this morning with the Israel Police Commissioner Daniel Levy, on violence in Arab society and the impact on personal security.
The meeting was attended by the senior command staff of the police and more than 100 heads of local authorities from all sectors, who convened in order to strengthen cooperation and promote immediate steps to address the rising violence in Arab society.
During the meeting, Arab local authority heads presented a severe and troubling situation, describing daily harm to innocent citizens who are paying a heavy price in lives.
The participants discussed a series of urgent operational measures, including increased police presence and reinforced patrols in friction points, the launch of national operations to seize illegal weapons, expanded use of advanced technological capabilities, and investment of resources to increase detection and clearance rates.
The meeting also addressed the urgent need to increase public awareness in Arab communities regarding the importance of reporting violent disputes to the police, filing complaints, preserving crime scenes, and refraining from taking the law into one’s own hands through acts of retaliation.
In addition, the critical importance of strengthening protection for elected officials and public servants under threat was discussed as part of the broader effort to reinforce governance.
Israel Police Commissioner Daniel Levy:
“The Israel Police is engaged in determined, continuous, and uncompromising action against crime in Israeli-Arab society, aimed at dismantling organized crime groups, seizing illegal weapons, and restoring personal security to citizens. I have instructed all police districts to deploy full operational capabilities, forces, resources, special units, intelligence, quality investigations, and both overt and covert operations in order to strike at the core of criminal activity, its leadership, and those who finance and operate it.”
“We are present day and night in the field, in communities and sensitive locations, and we will continue to act decisively against anyone who holds illegal weapons, carries out shootings, extorts, or threatens others. This is a struggle for human life, for families, for children, and for the future of Israeli-Arab society and Israeli society as a whole.”
“To succeed in this effort, the Israel Police stands at the forefront, but full, coordinated mobilization of all enforcement authorities is required, including the immediate restoration of necessary technological tools. Only strong, integrated, and sustained action by all branches of the state — the prosecution, the courts, the Tax Authority, the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority, and all enforcement bodies — will enable us to weaken the economic power of organized crime groups, dry up their funding sources, and deliver clear results on the ground.
“This struggle will continue until security is restored and criminals understand that they have no place here.”
Chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities, Haim Bibas:
“We are in the midst of a national emergency. Fifty-three people murdered since the beginning of 2026 demonstrate the need for a significant shift and closer cooperation than ever between the police and local authorities. Local leaders are committed to working with the police to address the root causes of this problem.
“This violence is terrorism in every sense — organized crime groups are acting like a state within a state. We are here to advance immediate action to eradicate crime. We have appealed to the Prime Minister to use all available tools, including the capabilities of the ISA, to dismantle these organizations and destroy their financial infrastructure.”
Mazen Ghanaim, Chairman of the Forum of Arab Local Authority Heads and Mayor of Sakhnin, described the sense of emergency in Arab communities and emphasized that the reality in which citizens — young people, women, and families — do not feel safe in their homes or on the streets is unacceptable and requires an immediate, firm, and coordinated response.
“We want everyone to understand that this is a shared fate. The engineer, the doctor, the teacher — everyone wants to return home safely. It is absurd that this is our only request right now.”
In addition to local authority leaders from across the country, the following members of the Israel Police senior command participated: Head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division, Deputy Commissioner Boaz Blatt; Head of Lahav 433, Deputy Commissioner Manny Benjamin; the officer responsible for combating crime in Arab society, Deputy Commissioner Maoz Ben Shabo; Commander of the Border Police, Deputy Commissioner Brik Yitzhak; Head of the Community and Volunteers Division, Assistant Commissioner Sigal Toledano; Head of the Intelligence Division, Assistant Commissioner Oshri Abuksis; Head of the Spokesperson’s Division, Assistant Commissioner Lior Abudraham; Deputy Head of Operations, Assistant Commissioner Shlomi Toledano; and Police Spokesperson, Commander Aryeh Doron.
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