National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir made another visit on Wednesday to the Bedouin village of Tarabin. The visit comes the morning after five vehicles were torched in the nearby Jewish town of Lehavim, an act that the police assess is a "price tag attack" in response to the increased enforcement in the village.
The visit is part of Operation "New Order," initiated by Police Commissioner Danny Levi. The operation focuses on law enforcement, the seizure of illegal weapons, the demolition of unauthorized structures, and the overall improvement of governance in the area.
After touring the village, Ben-Gvir told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News: "I am leaving Tarabin for the third time this week. I am telling the people of Tarabin, whoever is normative - 'Ahlan wa sahlan' (welcome). And whoever isn't - the police will cut them down. I understand that they want to challenge us, to do a mini 'price tag' against us, so that we stop. They don't know us, we'll just keep going, until they raise a white flag."
In a statement to the press at the entrance to the village, flanked by the commander of the National Guard, Ben-Gvir stated: "For 30 years, they abandoned the Negev, for 30 years they neglected the place. The police never went into these places."
Addressing the residents, he assured: "I say to anyone who is normative here that they have nothing to fear. However, whoever isn't normative, we will cut them down. The police will deal with them, and the National Guard will defeat them. We will keep going without blinking to defeat those criminals."
A police official stated that "the torching of vehicles is a price tag attack by Bedouins for the Minister and Commissioner's weapons seizure operation in Tarabin," and added: "The rules have changed. They don't understand that they won't scare us; we will intensify measures."