Thousands of weapons, dozens of murders prevented in Arab communities

TEL AVIV: The Israel Police said that since the start of 2023 as part of its fight against violence and crime in Arab communities thousands of weapons have been seized and dozens of murder attempts were thwarted.

In the first half of 2023, there were 20 cases of the police thwarting attempts to smuggle weapons over Israel's borders compared to 18 in the corresponding period last year. In these smuggling attempts, 23 long weapons of various types and 441 pistols were seized by the police forces. And 28 suspects were arrested.

Also, in the first half of 2023, a number of complex cases were cracked said the policy. At the center of these cases were six undercover agents, who incriminated 143 suspects, including 19 major targets.

In the economic fight against criminal families and organizations, the Israel Police seized approximately 900 million Shekels (USD 250 million) were seized, which is a 178% increase compared to the corresponding period last year.

The fight against protection rackets is also yielding successes with 79 extortion cases opened this year compared to 61 last year. This increase originates from an operational initiative of the Israel Police within a wider trust that the complainants place in the Israel Police.