Attempts to Involve the Shin Bet in Tackling Crime in Arab Society
- ACRI
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Involving the Shin Bet, the Israel Security Authority, in police work to fight crime in Arab society may seem like a proactive response to a growing problem, but is, in fact, extremely problematic. The Shin Bet is not authorized to undertake criminal investigations. The tools that it uses and the powers that it has to carry out surveillance, monitoring, and intelligence gathering go far beyond the powers granted to the police and involve infringements on privacy and liberty that the police are not allowed to carry out. Moreover, involving the Shin Bet in criminal investigations in Arab society creates a discriminatory system in which crime in Jewish society is investigated by the police while crime in Arab society is investigated by the Shin Bet. Crime in Arab society is major issues that requires planning and budgets (which have been diverted), as well as a government and police system that is not indifferent (at best) to Arab society.
Below is a yearslong timeline of ACRI’s opposition to attempts to have the role of the Shin Bet spill over from ensuring national security to tackling crime in Arab society. For a full list of articles in Hebrew written about this case, see here.
On July 9, 2026, following reports on the Shin Bet's involvement in a police operation in northern Israel that focused on crime in Arab society, ACRI submitted an appeal to the Attorney General, the head of the Shin Bet, and the Commissioner of the Israel Police. ACRI Attorney Elza Bugnet argued that because addressing crime in Arab society does not fall within the Shin Bet's purview under the Shin Bet Law, its involvement in the police operation was unauthorized.
The appeal points to the anticipated violation of the rights of Arab suspects in criminal proceedings, as well as the rights to equality, dignity, liberty, privacy, and due process for all Arab citizens, that will result from the spillover of Shin Bet practices into the fight against crime in Arab society. While violence and crime in Jewish society are investigated by the Israel Police, having the Shin Bet involved in dealing with crime in Arab society would allow it to deploy a different set of harsher tools against civilians. Concerns regarding the increasing integration of the Shin Bet into efforts to combat crime in Arab society are compounded by the government's decision to make substantial cuts to the Five-Year Plan aimed at reducing disparities in Arab society and to redirect those funds to the police and the Shin Bet to finance a program for combating crime and violence in Arab society.
ACRI asked the Attorney General, the head of the Shin Bet, and the Police Commissioner to clarify to all relevant parties that addressing crime in Arab society does not fall within the legal authority of the Shin Bet. We also asked them to order an immediate end to the Shin Bet's involvement in this and similar police operations, in order to halt the anti-democratic tendency of to expand the Shin Bet’s involvement in criminal matters and to protect the rights of the public, and Arab citizens in particular.
The response from the Prime Minister's Office on July 19, 2026 claimed that "the [Shin Bet] was involved in an operation against subjects of interest [to the Shin Bet] only, in matters that fall within its scope of designation according to the Shin Bet Law," and therefore did not exceed the scope of the role designated for it by law.
ACRI's appeal, July 9, 2026 (Heb)
Response from the Prime Minister's Office, July 19, 2026 (Heb)
On December 16, 2025, ACRI submitted an appeal to the Attorney General and the head of the Shin Bet following the government's decision to transfer funds from the Five-Year Plan for Arab society to the Israel Police and the General Security Service to address crime and violence in Arab society. The government's decision was legally and factually vague and did not specify which Shin Bet programs would be funded under the decision. The decision expands the Shin Bet's involvement in combating crime in Arab society beyond the authority granted to it by law.
We asked the Attorney General and the head of the Shin Bet to clarify that addressing crime in Arab society does not fall within the Shin Bet's domain, and to explain the intended purpose of the budget allocated to the Shin Bet.
ACRI's appeal, December 16, 2025 (Heb)
On March 4, 2024, ACRI submitted an appeal to the Attorney General following a February 18 letter from Roi Cahlon, Chief of Staff for Combating Crime and Violence in Arab Society in which he requested that weapons capable of causing mass casualties be treated as a security threat and that the Shin Bet be involved in law enforcement against offenders possessing such weapons. ACRI strongly opposed this request and asked that it be rejected.
In the appeal, we argued that the Shin Bet is not authorized to address crime. It is a preventive security agency that operates differently from the police. The far-reaching powers granted to the Shin Bet for the purpose of carrying out its security missions, including the authority to use surveillance, monitoring, and intelligence-gathering tools, as well as various investigative powers, entail infringing on privacy and liberty and therefore require maintaining a clear and sharp boundary between the Shin Bet's activities and those of the police. The gradual expansion of the Shin Bet's authority is an overly broad interpretation of its security powers.
ACRI's appeal to the Attorney General, March 4, 2024 (Heb)
On May 4, 2023, ACRI submitted an appeal to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, asking its members not to approve a bill to authorize the Shin Bet to assist the police in combating crime. We argued that this was an anti-democratic bill that tramples upon the fundamental principles of criminal procedure; moreover, it is racist and discriminatory because it labels Arab citizens as a threat.
In the appeal, we noted that there is no doubt that rising crime in Arab society requires decisive action by law enforcement. However, this important objective cannot justify this kind of serious infringement on human rights, or the creation of two separate enforcement systems: police for Jews and the Shin Bet for Arabs.
We further emphasized the importance of maintaining a clear distinction between the Shin Bet, a secret agency tasked with preventing serious threats to state security or the foundations of the democratic system, and the police. To carry out its functions, the Shin Bet has been granted powerful monitoring and surveillance tools, as well as various investigative powers that the police force does not have. The spillover of these tools and their use against civilians as part of efforts to combat crime—however serious that crime may be—results in a disproportionate infringement on civil liberties, the right to due process, the right to privacy, and the ability to maintain a society free from surveillance, as well as healthy democratic system.
ACRI's appeal to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, May 4, 2023 (Heb)
On January 30, 2023, ACRI submitted an appeal to the Attorney General on this issue following provision in the coalition agreements between the Likud party and the Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties that would authorize the Shin Bet to assist the police in combating crime. We argued that the Shin Bet should not be involved in the fight against crime.
ACRI's appeal to the Attorney General, January 30, 2023 (Heb)
In August 2021 ACRI sent an appeal to the Attorney General to oppose authorizing the Shin Bet to aid in combatting crime. The response by the Ministry of Justice on October 4, 2021, indicated that the Attorney General agreed with our position that the Shin Bet has no authority to address crime, even when it comes to serious crimes, and that contrary to statements made by the Prime Minister’s office there was no intention to expand its powers. The response further stated that the Shin Bet would continue to operate as usual, within the realm of the authority granted to it by law.
ACRI's appeal to the Attorney General, August 23, 2021 (Heb)
Response from the Ministry of Justice, October 4, 2021 (Heb)
