National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir toured the Negev Bedouin village of Lakiya for a second time this month on Sunday amid a wave of local violence, sparking anger from residents after police blocked the town’s entrance with concrete blocks.

His visit and the roadblocks came on the heels of a new operation by police aimed at combating spiraling criminal activity and arms trafficking among Negev Bedouin, dubbed Operation New Order.

Arab mayors and council heads have repeatedly demanded that the state do more to combat crime in their areas, and many have assigned blame to the far-right Ben Gvir for the surge in homicides since he took office in late 2022.

So far this year, more than 230 Arab citizens have been killed in mostly gang-related shootings and stabbings, more than the toll for all of last year. In recent days, a shooting in the Bedouin city of Rahat left two dead, and reports of heavy gunfire near Jewish towns at the start of the week prompted Ben Gvir to drive south and tour several areas in the Negev.

Arab leaders have lamented being boxed out of decision-making regarding the issue even though it primarily affects their constituencies. On Sunday, heads of Bedouin locales in the Negev said they were incensed after being excluded from an emergency meeting on crime that took place in Beersheba earlier in the day.

“It saddens us that this is the behavior; we expect to cooperate with all the Negev local authorities and for them to also deal with the Bedouin community. We don’t look upon this favorably,” Rahat Mayor Talal al-Kernawi told The Times of Israel. “We’re also in favor of safeguarding governance in the Negev.”

Ben Gvir arrived in Lakiya alongside Southern District police chief Haim Bublil, and footage captured him feuding with Ra’am MK Walid al-Hawashleh.

In the video, Ben Gvir declared that he was the “landlord” in the Arab town, as al-Hawashleh........

© The Times of Israel