The government has decided to allocate funds to the Shin Bet for the fight against Arab crime, according to a report by ynet. This is the first time the security agency receives dedicated funding for this purpose.
The government has officially approved the first-ever dedicated allocation of funds to the Shin Bet for combating crime in Arab society, according to a report by ynet. The decision, reported on Saturday, July 4, marks the culmination of a process that began late Friday with initial reports of the agency's planned role expansion.
Late Friday, July 3, at 20:22 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that the Shin Bet was expected to take on crime-fighting duties in Arab society. Shortly thereafter, in successive updates, Channel 12 reported that a budget of approximately 1 billion shekels had received in-principle approval, pending Prime Minister Netanyahu's final sign-off. By the end of Friday evening, the same source indicated that the budget had been approved in principle, with the previous Shin Bet chief having opposed the move over mission-creep concerns.
The allocation represents a significant expansion of the Shin Bet's traditional counterterrorism and intelligence role into civilian crime-fighting. As The Zioneer reported on Friday, the previous Shin Bet chief had opposed the move, citing concerns about mission creep and the expansion of the agency's powers into civilian domains.
Further details on the exact amount and timeline of the funding were not immediately available, and it remains unclear whether the final sum matches the approximately 1 billion shekel figure previously reported by Channel 12.
5 developments
- StrongFinance Ministry greenlights immediate 15b shekel transfer to defense budget
- Developing301 Analyst: Shin Bet shift on Arab crime marks end of 'economic peace' era
- StrongGovernment allocates NIS 18 million to rabbinical courts for 2026
- DevelopingGovernment to allocate targeted food-and-clothing budget for hilltop youth
Source and signal
- Internal intake