For the first time ever, the Israeli Police announced Aug. 31 that it has created an undercover unit to combat the growing wave of crime and violence in the Arab society. The unit, known as “Sinai,” was launched in the presence of the Commissioner of Police Kobi Shabtai. Its 45 members will focus exclusively on those groups and individuals responsible for organized crime in the Arab society. In other words, contrary to anti-terror undercover units usually operating in the West Bank, this undercover unit will operate against Israel’s Arab citizens, who are not involved in terrorism.

At the ceremony marking the launch of the new unit, Shabtai said, “We will restore a sense of security to Arab towns and villages. Many different government agencies, local authorities and ministries will need to take part in this effort. We are in regular contact with each of them. If we work together, we will succeed.”

The creation of this unit comes against the background of a particularly bloody weekend for Israel in general and the Arab sector in particular. This included three murders in a single day, and five murders since Saturday. Illegal weapons and wanton violence have become synonymous with the Arab society over the last few years. The Abraham Initiatives advocacy group reported that since the start of 2021, 78 Arab civilians have been murdered in a growing tide of violence.

Given the swell in violence and murder in the Arab society and the failure of the police to quash the phenomenon, some people have called on the authorities to involve the Shin Bet. They point out that the murder rate has been rising from year to year, and the Shin Bet has the technology and tools to help the police combat crime.