Police touted an undercover operation that led to 23 arrests earlier this month.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Northern Israel, particularly in Arab communities, is under threat from struggles between organized crime groups seeking to control territory or exact revenge on rivals, according to a recent investigative report by Ynet.

Numerous criminal organizations, each with dozens to hundreds of “soldiers,” operate in the region.

Most are run by Arab clans that generate vast sums through protection rackets, extortion schemes and murder, the report said.

In Wadi Ara and the Galilee, for example, the Al-Asmar group is based in Umm al-Fahm, the Karaja clan operates in Harish, and Abu Shaheb of the Suweid family is centered in Shfaram.

Nazareth, known for being the birthplace of Jesus, has become “a dangerous place” for business owners, one resident told the news site.

“We are in constant danger because of these criminal organizations, and many of us have closed our businesses to stop these threats,” the local said. “At night, the roads are almost empty because of the danger to the lives of the residents. Today, anyone can be a victim of murder without knowing [why].”

Turf wars between gangs have led to killings of people targeted solely because they share the last names of rival groups, despite having no involvement in criminal activity.

Blood feuds often develop after gang members are killed, triggering cycles of retaliation and additional murders.

Innocent bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time have also been killed.

Police have had limited success curbing the violence, as reflected by the hundreds of civilian deaths in recent years and the low rate at which homicide cases are solved.

Since 2023, 721 murders have been recorded in all in the Arab sector, through Dec. 4, nearly double the combined total of the previous three years.

This includes other kinds of homicides as well, such as those resulting from private family feuds and honor killings.

Only 71 cases — less than 10% — have been solved.

Authorities cited a breakthrough earlier this month when hundreds of police officers, Border Police and special units raided dozens of sites linked to senior criminal figures, arresting 23 suspects.

Those arrested included at least one of the four brothers alleged to lead the Abu Latif crime syndicate, one of the country’s most powerful organizations.

The group has even infiltrated Defense Ministry service bids by threatening contractors, according to a March report in Ynet.

The arrest operation was made possible by an undercover police officer known as “the Prince,” who spent more than a year embedded in the criminal underworld gathering evidence, the report said.

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According to the police, the group exerted control over tenders issued by the state, local authorities, and even private enterprises, with operations stretching across the country.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israeli authorities plan to file indictments against Latif Abu Latif, the alleged head of one of Israel’s most powerful criminal organizations, and 11 of his associates, the Attorney General’s office announced on Sunday morning.

The suspects — described as senior operatives, managers, and activists in the Abu Latif crime organization — are accused of blackmail, tax offenses, and large-scale money laundering.

Prosecutors say the group systematically extorted contractors and developers who had won or bid on infrastructure tenders, often threatening them to secure dominance over public and private projects.

“This is a violent and deeply rooted criminal organization that built a monopoly through fear,” a police spokesperson said. “They used their reputation for brutality to dominate the field of infrastructure tenders across the country.”

Police officials emphasized the scale and ambition of the criminal enterprise. “What began as local extortion and ‘protection fees’ evolved into a vast network controlling billions in public contracts,” said a senior investigator.

“This investigation is about dismantling a violent monopoly that operated through threats, extortion, and even shootings.”

Investigators estimate that the Abu Latif crime family is responsible for the murder of more than 30 people during the last two years.

The individuals expected to be charged include Latif Abu Latif, Vicky Attiya, Imran Shakir, Mehdi Ismail, Khaled Sharqia, Salah Gadaban, Abd Khatib, Ahmed Suleiman, Adham Hassan, Salim Shakur, Nissim Amira, and Ashraf Halabi.

According to the police, the group exerted control over tenders issued by the state, local authorities and even private enterprises.

“Their activities were not limited to one region — they were targeting tenders in towns and cities across the country,” the spokesperson added.

The suspects were arrested over a month ago in a sweeping operation involving 1,000 officers. A total of 36 people were detained during the raid, including Abu Latif himself.

In the aftermath, police showcased a fleet of luxury vehicles seized from the organization, including Maserati, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, and Range Rover models—symbols of the group’s alleged illicit wealth.

The Attorney General’s Office will ask the Nazareth Magistrate’s Court to keep all 12 suspects in custody until the end of legal proceedings.

According to the Abraham Initiative, a non-profit organization that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, 58 Israeli-Arabs have been killed in violent crimes in 2025.

The spike is a continuation of 230 murders in 2024. In 2023, a record number of 244 Israeli-Arabs were murdered, more than double the 120 homicides in 2022.

The surge in violence is attributed to organized crime groups fighting turf battles and trying to eliminate rivals.

Arab criminal organizations have been involved in extortion, money laundering, and trafficking in weapons, drugs, and women.

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Police were suspicious that Avitan was a Mossad spy, but they eventually accepted his explanation that he was there to settle a dispute with another criminal.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli known to be involved in organized crime was sentenced by a Malaysian court to seven years in prison, accepting a plea bargain after he was charged with weapons offenses.

Shalom Avitan entered Malaysia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, using a French passport, according to a report from Hebrew-language outlet Mako.

Avitan was said to have traveled to the Muslim country in April 2024 with the goal of assassinating another Israeli organized crime figure, Eran Haya, with whom he had an ongoing criminal dispute in Israel.

He was arrested after purchasing weapons and ammunition from a local Malaysian couple, who are also facing criminal charges.

Several days after his arrival in Malaysia, police raided Avitan’s hotel room in Kuala Lumpur, seizing six guns and 158 bullets.

Initially, police were suspicious that Avitan was a Mossad spy, but they eventually accepted his explanation that he was there to settle a dispute with another criminal.

The trial was postponed multiple times due to Avitan’s demand for a Hebrew-language interpreter. One could not be found locally, and due to the lack of relations between Malaysia and Israel, a Hebrew interpreter could not be brought from the Jewish state.

After numerous delays, Avitan opted to accept a plea deal of seven years in prison.

Avitan is “being held in difficult conditions,” a friend told Mako.

“The prisons in the country are that of a third-world country, and even worse. I hope for his sake that he survives prison.”

The southeast Asian country maintains a hostile public stance towards Israel.

In January 2025, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry “unequivocally” condemned Israeli military activity in the Gaza Strip, claiming that the IDF engages in “incessant and targeted” actions against civilians.

In December 2023, Malaysia banned Israeli ships from docking at its ports due to the IDF’s military campaign against Hamas.

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Beyond Iranian exiles, Iran has been implicated in threats against US and Israeli officials, Jewish communities in the diaspora , and LGBTQ+ activists.

By Jewish Breaking News

A shocking new report by the Washington Post has uncovered a troubling trend in Iran’s tactics for silencing critics abroad.

Blurring the lines between state-sponsored terrorism and organized crime, the Islamic Republic has been increasingly turning to criminal organizations to carry out its dirty work.

The scope of Iran’s criminal partnerships is alarmingly broad. Collaborations allegedly include the Russian “Thieves in Law” gang and the Hells Angels, both known for their involvement in drug trafficking and organized crime across multiple continents.

One chilling example involves Pouria Zeraati, an exiled Iranian journalist working for the London-based Iran International news channel.

In March 2023, Zeraati was ambushed and stabbed outside his home in Wimbledon by an Eastern European syndicate hired by Iran.

In another particularly gruesome plot, Hells Angels members were contracted to assassinate a former Iranian military officer living in Maryland in 2022.

Ordered by notorious Iranian heroin kingpin Naji Sharifi Zindashti, the hitmen were told to “erase his head from his torso.”

Western intelligence services have compiled extensive evidence linking Zindashti’s criminal empire to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence.

He is accused of orchestrating multiple high-profile attacks on behalf of the regime, including the 2020 execution of Habib Chaab, an Iranian-Swedish political activist.

Beyond Iranian exiles, Iran has been implicated in threats against US and Israeli officials, Jewish communities in the diaspora , and LGBTQ+ activists.

Just last month, a plot by a Pakistani man with ties to Iran to assassinate top American political figures was thwarted.

Iran’s lethal approach to silencing dissent overseas has reached unprecedented levels, prompting repeated warnings from the US Justice Department about the regime’s hand in Western affairs.

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