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They are amassing growing power, accumulating billions in illicit funds, employing brutal tactics and even resorting to the murder of innocent relatives.
Powerful crime families have taken control of Israel’s Arab sector, aided by the police’s near-total failure to solve murder cases—a reality that means many contract killers roam free.
This, in turn, makes it easier for them to recruit young “soldiers,” often raised in poverty in neglected Arab towns and villages, who see senior crime lords driving luxury cars and living in lavish homes.
Firearms are readily available in Arab communities, ranging from basic handguns to assault rifles. The result is staggering: 237 people were murdered in 2024, 244 in 2023, 115 in 2022, 135 in 2021 and 123 in 2020. A glance at the number of homicide cases solved last year—just 37—helps explain why the phenomenon continues to grow. If the current pace continues, this year’s death toll is also expected to surpass 200.
Not all of these killings are tied to organized crime; many stem from blood feuds, sometimes triggered by minor disputes and escalating into cycles of revenge. Yet crime syndicates have exploited the lawlessness and absence of governance, with some managing to rake in hundreds of millions of shekels annually through criminal enterprises. That money, in turn, fuels even more violence—and contrary to popular belief, its impact is not limited to the Arab community.
In the Galilee and northern Israel, the Abu Latif crime syndicate holds sway. The organization is led by four brothers—Suleiman, Latif, Nidal and Alaa—who hail from the town of Rameh, home to Arab Christians, Druze and Muslim Arabs.
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Luxury cars police impounded in raids on Abu Latif crime syndicate
(Video: Nachum Segal)
The syndicate is involved in loan sharking, extortion and intimidation, and in recent years has also been linked to the takeover of Defense Ministry tenders through threats against contractors.
Their influence is so strong that in Rameh, the only person who dared run for local council head was Shauki Abu Latif. He was elected with 99 percent of the vote despite facing charges of aiding in a protection racket and being barred from residing in the town or using a phone. The situation in Rameh is considered so dire that the Shin Bet security agency recommended canceling elections there due to rampant crime.
The group is believed to have close to 220 foot soldiers, making the Abu Latif brothers possibly the most powerful crime family in Israel. Police occasionally announce major raids against them, during which luxury cars, watches and large sums of cash are seized.
The most recent operation, on February 26, resulted in 36 arrests, according to police. However, one of the organization’s leaders, Suleiman Abu Latif, was later released without restrictions. His attorney, Basel Falah, mocked the proceedings, saying, “The police’s flagship case is beginning to collapse.”
In contrast, the family’s dominant figure, Latif Abu Latif, remains in custody, as does another brother, Nidal, who is already serving time for a separate case.
Another powerful criminal network in the Arab sector is the Hariri family, which is split into two factions—one led by Wissam Hariri and the other by Nasser Hariri, who is currently incarcerated. Each is believed to command around 90 foot soldiers. The Hariri group engages in protection rackets and extortion, operating primarily in the Wadi Ara region and the southern Triangle area—a concentration of Israeli Arab towns and villages bordering the West Bank.
The Hariri syndicate has a violent feud with the Bakri crime family from Nazareth, headed by Samir Bakri, who is also in prison. The Bakri organization is believed to have nearly 120 soldiers from various parts of the country and is similarly involved in extortion and protection rackets. The rivalry between the two groups has claimed 36 lives over the years, including relatives of the organizations' leaders.
Samir Bakri was arrested in August 2023 on suspicion of murdering Abdel Latif Zaytun at the Megiddo Junction in northern Israel. He had been in hiding for an extended period before his capture. Around the same time, police uncovered a tunnel allegedly used by the group to hide fugitives and smuggle weapons.
Bakri was ultimately released for lack of evidence but was soon rearrested on suspicion of orchestrating a shooting intended to force Musab Dukhan to withdraw his candidacy for mayor of Nazareth. Fearing for his life, Dukhan complied. The Shin Bet intervened in the investigation, and eventually a witness statement allegedly implicated Bakri. The case is now being heard in court.
Another major crime syndicate in the Galilee is the Nuaimi family, whose members primarily reside in the town of Jadeidi-Makr. The organization is led by Firas Nuaimi and is involved in extortion and intimidation. It is estimated to have nearly 70 foot soldiers.
The Nuaimi syndicate is locked in a deadly feud with the Abu Latif family, a conflict that has claimed about 25 lives over the past two and a half years. It is also feuding with parts of the Hariri organization, in a rivalry that has resulted in 36 deaths in recent years.
Some individuals in both the immediate and extended circles of these families, including those not directly involved in the disputes, say they fear leaving their homes, afraid they might be targeted.
In Ramla, another powerful crime family is the Jarushi clan, believed to have at least 120 foot soldiers. Senior figures in the organization include Hossam, Ismail and Zaid Jarushi, each considered a major figure in the criminal underworld.
The Jarushi syndicate is embroiled in a violent war with the Musrati family, a feud that has already claimed more than 12 lives—including women and children. The group is seen as one of the dominant forces in the Israeli underworld and is widely credited with turning Ramla’s Jawarish neighborhood into a crime capital plagued by shootings and explosive attacks.
In January 2023, after the assassination of Ali Jarushi—regarded as the family’s internal arbiter—at the entrance to a mosque in Jawarish, police were stationed on nearly every corner of the neighborhood out of fear of revenge attacks. About six weeks later, Idris Jibril Akasha was shot dead in his home in the same neighborhood, reportedly in retaliation for Ali’s killing.
Another significant Arab crime organization is the Karaja family, based in Harish and led by Ayman Karaja. The group is involved in loan sharking and extortion and has nearly 140 soldiers.
In Umm al-Fahm, the crime syndicate led by Suhaib al-Asmar is active in the loan sharking and extortion rackets. It is believed to include at least 50 foot soldiers. Police suspect the group is involved in shootings and murders, though they have yet to gather sufficient evidence for charges.
In Baqa al-Gharbiya, gang leader Khaled Abu Judeh and his son Abed were killed within six months of each other. Khaled was shot dead on Route 6 in February 2024, while his son was gunned down in an olive grove in Baqa al-Gharbiya in August. Their gang, which includes dozens of members, also counts among its ranks a well-known criminal, Amir Abu Zaid, described as a "ruthless" figure.
The bloody feud that led to the killings of Abu Judeh and his son has already claimed 11 lives and stems from a power struggle with the gang led by Samih Abu Much—who was himself murdered earlier this year. Two months later, his brother Rasmi Abu Much was also killed. Ziyad Abu Much, a school principal, was murdered when an explosive device detonated in his car in Baqa al-Gharbiya. His relatives said the killing was an act of blood revenge, though Ziyad was an educator with no involvement in the conflict.
In the town of Jaljulia, the crime organization of Koteir Odeh operates despite its leader serving an 18-year sentence for aiding a murder. Even from prison, Odeh is considered the head of a syndicate with dozens of foot soldiers, primarily involved in the grey market and extortion.
On multiple occasions, he has orchestrated simultaneous riots by supporters in more than one prison in Israel to pressure the Israel Prison Service (IPS) into granting improved incarceration conditions.
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The equipment found in Koteir Odeh’s prison cell
(Video: Israel Prison Service)
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Riots at Rimonim Prison over Odeh’s demand for improved incarceration conditions, August 2023
(Photo: Israel Prison Service)
For a time, he succeeded. An IPS internal investigation concluded that Odeh had “directed criminal activity outside the prison walls,” intimidated IPS personnel and was rewarded with “a permissive and unchecked lifestyle.” Among the contraband found in his cell were a knife and a massage device.
Reports also claimed that he received special privileges, such as food meant for prison staff, and was allowed to enter the guards’ room and control the surveillance cameras. As a result, seven prison officers and commanders were dismissed, including one at the rank of deputy commissioner.
In the city of Taybeh, the Abel Qader crime group continues to maintain its influence, although its activity has significantly decreased in recent years. Occasionally, the group also mediates reconciliations in violent disputes. It has dozens of operatives.
In Kafr Qara, the Arbid family crime gang, led by Ali Arbid, includes about 20 criminals affiliated with a larger crime network. They are involved in violence and extortion.
In the city of Tira, a gang led by Marwan Nassar is known for feuding with other local families. The group, involved in extortion and threats, is believed to have dozens of members.
In Shefa-Amr, the crime gang of Bilal Suwaid operates with a similar scale, engaging in protection rackets and extortion. One of its feuds has left 20 people dead over the course of two years.
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In the south and the Negev region, shootings and acts of violence occur on a near-daily basis across multiple communities. Contractors and business owners there also face extortion and so-called “agricultural terrorism.” However, unlike the situation in central and northern Israel, there are no dominant Arab crime organizations in the south; rather, conflicts are primarily between rival clans (hamulot).
Although the majority of victims of these organizations are Arab, many of the groups maintain ties with Jewish crime syndicates. In one instance, Viki Atiya, head of a crime organization based in Netanya, was arrested on suspicion of partnering with Abu Latif to extort a well-known businessman. In another high-profile case, police attributed the assassination of criminal figure Beni Shlomo to foot soldiers from the Jarushi family.
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Bedouin gunmen open fire during a wedding convoy in the Negev and arrested by police
(Video: Israel Police )
Criminals within these organizations describe an endless cycle of violence—each murder triggering revenge, which in turn sparks further bloodshed. This vicious loop is eating away at Arab society from within. Assassins are getting younger, with teens being drawn into this world at an early age, becoming trapped in a cycle they can no longer escape. Meanwhile, the police, struggling to solve murders after they occur, are also failing to contain the chaos.
“The situation is worse than ever,” a soldier from one of the crime groups said. “A few years ago, it was easier to reach targets, but now it takes longer and sometimes it doesn’t work. That’s why they start going after relatives, shooting at homes and vehicles, terrorizing the target’s surroundings. Every murder leads to more revenge, and the list of targets keeps growing. In our group alone, 30 people have already been marked.”