In the final days of December 2025 and early January 2026, the Negev experienced a rapid escalation in state-minority tensions. Arson attacks against vehicles in Jewish communities adjacent to the Bedouin town of Tarabin al-Sana were met with a widescale, two-week long police operation locking down the entire town, and resulting, among other things, in the fatal shooting of a resident on his doorstep. While police and government leaders framed the operation as restoring “governability,” Bedouin leaders and civil society actors described it as an unlawful killing and “collective punishment” imposed on an entire civilian population.
The Negev is home to roughly 300,000 Bedouin residents, about a quarter of its population. During the first months of the war following October 7, Bedouin communities were widely recognized in Israeli public discourse as both victims of attacks and contributors to national efforts, cast as neighbors and heroes. Over time, however, public and political framing shifted, with growing portrayals of Bedouin society as criminalized and threatening, exemplified by rhetoric about the “Wild South,” and “the fifth column.”
These developments underscore a deepening crisis in the Negev and a growing risk of further violence and breakdown in intercommunal relations. While crime, weapons smuggling, and weak enforcement remain real challenges in parts of the Negev, recent discourse has increasingly blurred the line between criminal activity and terrorism or “nationalistic crime.” This framing extends to the way law-enforcement operations are carried out in Bedouin communities and intensifies Jewish-Bedouin tensions.
In November, Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, announced the launch of a new police operation, “New Order”, to combat crime in Bedouin communities. Frequently referring to it as a “war” against lawlessness, the operation implements military tactics commonly used in the West Bank.
The police operation in Tarabin was the largest raid thus far under the new effort, involving Border Police, National Guard, and special units who blocked entrances and exits to the village, established checkpoints with vehicle inspections, and conducted house searches alongside a sustained police presence throughout the town. In an official statemen, police said:”the forces are prepared to provide a ‘Tarabin package’ to any conflict that rears its head with even greater force <…> ” [Arab] sector understands the Tarabin model. They got the memo,” adding that in the near future, they will direct its “focal points” on the communities of Arara, Tel Sheva and Lakiya.
Bedouin leaders and civil society actors criticized and petitioned these tactics as dangerous and counter-productive. In a letter to President Isaac Herzog, Bedouin leaders wrote of the worrying “deterioration in relations between the Bedouin population and government agencies that goes beyond the real need to fight crime and creates an unnecessary rift between the Bedouin and Jewish populations of the Negev…. While fighting crime is important, steps like erecting concrete roadblocks and blockading and encircling Negev communities in practice constitute collective punishment of the law-abiding general public, undermines the routine of daily life and unnecessarily exacerbates tensions.”
Prior to the Tarabin operation, a separate fatal shooting took place in the Negev, this time involving a civilian and a soldier targeting a Bedouin man, Bedouin protesting the shooting drew the connection between the rhetoric and policy promoted by Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, holding signs naming him—not Ayoub and other Bedouin killed in similar acts in recent years—as a convicted felon.
During an emergency meeting on January 4th, Talal Al-Krenawi, Rahat’s Mayor, said: “We warned about Minister Ben-Gvir’s conduct – he is leading the Negev toward an unprecedented catastrophe. He treats us as if we are not citizens of this country.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir toured Tarabin several times during the operation “to demonstrate force and deterrence.” Commenting on the actions of the deployed forces, he stated: “this is as an unprecedented response after decades in which, the Negev had been abandoned and transformed into an extraterritorial area where a monster of nationalist and criminal crime grew <…> we will do everything to prevent the Negev from becoming the Wild South.”
Following the fatal shootings, hundreds of Arab residents protested under slogans such as Demonstrators condemned what they described as systemic incitement and discriminatory policies, while voicing broader concerns about policing, public safety, and long-standing socio-economic gaps. In parallel, some Jewish residents in the western Negev publicly voiced concern over the government’s handling of events and warned against political escalation.
Residents of the Ramat Negev regional council organized protest vigils ahead of a planned tour by PM Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, expressing fear that the visit would inflame tensions rather than contribute to stability.
Members of the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality emphasized that the current crises are the product of long-term policy failure, not lack of police strength: “Security without equality, accountability, and long-term commitment will only deepen fear and instability.” They highlighted residents’ feelings of abandonment, rising firearms and shootings, and the absence of systematic planning, arguing that lasting security requires investments in education, jobs, infrastructure, and equality.
Many Bedouin are convinced the crack-down is a cynical effort to capitalize on and incite Jewish-Bedouin tensions ahead of this year’s elections, catering to Jewish communities’ fears while doing little to actually help the Arab community. “At the end of the day, he’s interested in the Jewish towns.” said Adam al-Asad, a community activist from Lakiya. “He’s exploiting the collective trauma of Jewish society; he’s instilling more fear into people at the Arabs’ expense.”
Already tense relations between Jewish and Bedouin communities have been amplified by social media, which, according to recent research, often presents a false consensus portraying Bedouin society as uniformly criminal and threatening.
An analysis conducted by the aChord Center in collaboration with Fake Reporter f These conflate criminal activity with terrorism, with narratives that intensify polarization, reinforce stereotypes, and create fertile ground for support to justify collective punishment. Survey data highlights the gap in perception: while over 90% of Bedouins oppose aggression toward Jews, and over 60% oppose it strongly, only 18% of Jewish residents believe Bedouins strongly oppose violence against them.
aChord researchers warn that the start of an election year heightens these risks. The Negev has increasingly become a “convenient” arena for political escalation and messaging.
In response to the police operation in Tarabin, the El-Kassum Regional Council, one of only two Bedouin regional councils in Israel, filed a petition with the Supreme Court on January 1, 2026, against the police, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and his ministry.
The council requested an end to the enforcement operation, arguing that since its start on December 26, police actions under Ben-Gvir’s direction have been “unilateral, heavy-handed and disproportionate.” The High Court ordered the state and police to submit a response by the following Tuesday
While the police confirmed the operation had ended on January 11, residents report that raids and heavy police presence continue in.
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