Law and Order
in the Negev
It’s time to bring law, order, and sovereignty back to the Negev. We will fight crime, lawlessness, education that undermines the values of the state, and polygamy.
At the same time, we will reach out to the Bedouin community and offer a pathways to integration, education, and employment: those who choose to integrate will benefit, while those who choose crime and incitement will meet the full force of the State of Israel.
What is the problem?
The Negev has become a no-man’s land. The government has abandoned the Bedouin community and allowed Israeli sovereignty to collapse on the ground.
Crime families have stepped into the vacuum, terrorizing the roads, running protection rackets, and taking over farmland. Educational institutions have become incubators of incitement. Thousands of women are trapped in polygamous marriages funded at public expense, and illegal construction is spreading unchecked, with no restraint and no enforcement.
What is the solution?
We will restore law and sovereignty to every part of the Negev. Israeli sovereignty will apply to every person and every home. We will pursue the leaders of criminal organizations. We will stop funding destructive practices that are tearing society apart. We will restore the state’s authority over the education system.
87% of contractors have been forced to pay protection money
60% of fatal road accidents in the South involve a non-Jewish driver
170,000 residents live in illegal communities in the Negev
Bennett's Law and Order Plan for the Negev
01
We will bring the Shin Bet into the fight. The Negev will be designated as an emergency zone. We will define by law protection racketeering and agricultural crime as nationalist terror, bringing the Shin Bet into the campaign. We will establish an inter-agency task force (consisting of the Israel Police, Shin Bet, Tax Authority and State Attorney’s Office) led by a government project manager reporting directly to the Prime Minister.
02
The Al Capone method: we will identify the top 100 criminals and choke off the financial oxygen of their criminal organizations. Seizing luxury vehicles, freezing accounts, and asset forfeiture. We will pursue them on every front.
03
An iron fist and minimum sentences: The rule of law will be restored. We will double the network of police stations and tactical units (Yamas and Yoav) in the Southern District. In parallel, we will push fast-track legislation to toughen minimum sentences, without judicial discretion, for protection racketeering, agricultural crime and carrying illegal weapons.
04
The Negev will stop being a no-man’s land. We will change the equation. On one hand, accelerated development of and infrastructure investment within recognized communities. On the other, a crackdown on illegal construction in the dispersed Bedouin communities along with heavy economic sanctions against those who refuse to evacuate.
05
We will restore the state’s authority over the Negev’s education system: we will not allow any educational institution to become an incubator of incitement against the state. The State of Israel will enforce this and ensure that in every classroom, students are taught civic and national content that strengthens their connection to the State of Israel. A teacher who undermines the values of the state will be removed from the system.
06
We will eradicate polygamy in the Negev: according to the State Comptroller’s report, more than 16,000 women in the Negev live in polygamous families, a significant share of them with close ties to the Palestinian Authority through family reunification loopholes. The National Insurance Institute funds this through inflated benefits, and the government does nothing. Our government will enforce the existing law: indictments in every polygamy case, and a complete halt to benefits for those families.
07
Those who choose to integrate will benefit: we will treat the problems at their roots and deepen the Bedouin community’s connection to the state. We will establish resilience centers and industrial zones, incentivize Hebrew studies, and open pre-military preparatory programs for youth. We will use the carrot-and-stick method: those who integrate will benefit, and those who do not will face uncompromising enforcement.
FAQ
The data show that the Negev region suffers from particularly high levels of violence: according to the Knesset Research and Information Center, 23% of severe violent offenses in Israel occur in the Negev, and in around 60% of fatal accidents in the area, non-Jewish drivers are involved. In addition, there is widespread illegal construction, covering around 400,000 dunams, and growing alienation from the state. Further information appears in the State Comptroller’s report on the issue.
We will lead a shift from neglect to taking decisive action. We will launch a national operation to confiscate illegal weapons with severe penalties and establish a joint task force with the Shin Bet to uproot radicalization at its source. Intelligence, narcotics and fraud units will be placed directly under the Negev District — bringing the full force of the law to the ground.
“We will apply a law enforcement model known as “broken windows theory.” The model sets a policy of zero tolerance for every offense. The principle is that a determined response to minor offenses – such as traffic violations or minor building violations – prevents a slide into serious crime and anarchy.
The plan will adopt the “Al Capone model”: a determined, uncompromising economic campaign against the assets and funds of the crime families, alongside tougher penalties for illegal weapons possession.
The plan sets a target of doubling police presence:
– We will double the number of police stations in the Bedouin communities.
– We will put police back on the ground: a constant, uncompromising police presence, so that residents of the Negev can live a normal life.
– We will permanently assign Special Patrol Unit forces (Yasam) to police stations in the Negev.
We will replace this state of anarchy with a fair, orderly solution for every resident affected by the issue. The equation is simple: those who choose to integrate will receive a fair solution and a prosperous future. Those who choose to keep flouting the law will face an iron fist. We will offer solutions in existing cities and new communities, but we will not compromise on sovereignty.
Polygamy is a criminal offense that severely harms women and children as well as serves as a backdoor through which thousands of Palestinian women enter Israel unlawfully. We will end the turning a blind eye to enforcing the law: we will terminate benefits unlawfully paid to polygamous families, file indictments, and use the full force of the law. The state will stop funding the violation of its own laws.
We will establish a special unit, together with the Shin Bet and the police, to fight online incitement. The unit will monitor extremist discourse on social media and act to stop radicalization before it turns into violence on the ground. Alongside that, we will remove incitement from the education system: a teacher who undermines the values of the state will be removed permanently. We will impose tight oversight on content and ensure that institutions reinforce Israeli sovereignty, rather than work against it.
To reduce alienation, the plan includes:
– Establishing three new industrial zones, high-tech employment centers, Hebrew-language programs for all ages, and dedicated training programs for women and young people.
– Establishing academic extension programs tailored to the Bedouin community, alongside community resilience and support centers.
– Requiring teaching staff to undergo training in Israeli civic and state values, while ensuring the teaching of civic and national content and oversight of educational personnel, in order to strengthen the values of the state and prevent incitement within the education system.
A national directorate will be established in the Prime Minister’s Office. The directorate will centralize all authority, budgets and responsibility, and coordinate the work of the police, the Shin Bet, the Israel Land Authority and the various government ministries.
The guiding principle is to consolidate and refocus existing budgets from government ministries, the Israel Land Authority and the Bedouin Authority. Alongside that, the government will make targeted investments in security infrastructure and the establishment of industrial zones, in partnership with the private sector.
