Some 500 Israeli police officers take part in a raid after an explosion that killed four people

Some 500 police officers took part this morning in a massive raid against organised crime in the town of Ramle and its surroundings (central Israel), after an explosion last night attributed to a dispute between Arab families linked to organised crime claimed the lives of four people, three of them children.

The Israeli Police reported the operation, which resulted in several arrests, the seizure of several weapons and the identification of illegal residents.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir took part in the raid and posted a video on his social media account X showing himself talking and walking with the officers.

"After decades of turning a blind eye and seeing criminal organisations take over the Arab sector, the Israel Police is going to war!" the leader of the Religious Zionism party wrote in a message.

Ben Gvir said the operation targeted the Jarushi criminal family, one of the clans considered to be among the most violent and powerful in Israel.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, authorities believe that last night's explosion, in which a car blew up and several shops were damaged, is linked to a dispute between the Jarushi family and another criminal clan, the Abu Zaid clan.

The problem of organized crime and violence among Israeli Arabs has only increased in recent years.

The Abraham Initiatives organization, which promotes coexistence between Arabs and Jews in Israel, recorded 244 murders in the Israeli Arab sector in 2023, the most violent year in this community since records began.

In July of this year, the number of violent deaths exceeded the same period last year, reaching a record of 115 murders during the first 7 months of the year.

Israeli authorities have failed to stem the bloodshed despite promising more resources, including more officers and funds to tackle the social problems within the Arab sector that underpin the crime wave.

Many community leaders blame the police, which have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignored the violence, but they also point to decades of neglect, abandonment and discrimination by authorities as the root cause of the problem.

In June 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed an inter-ministerial committee to combat violence in the Arab sector, but no tangible results have yet been seen, and many see Ben Gvir's position at the head of the National Security Ministry, which controls the police, as a major impediment. Aurora and EFE