In the northern community of Kfar Yafia, security forces raided a compound where they uncovered a stockpile of weapons and a tunnel shaft. The raid yielded four pistols, weapon accessories, hundreds of bullets, cartridges and a large amount of ammunition. Inside the shaft, investigators uncovered a LAW anti-tank missile, a Carlo-type rifle and more ammunition.

The police said that since the beginning of the year, they have seized over 700 weapons in the northern district, including 253 guns, 148 rifles, 161 grenades, 141 explosives, and numerous cartridges.

Meanwhile, in the Bedouin Negev town of Rahat, near Beer-Sheva, police seized weapons and arrested four suspects, including two Palestinians illegally residing in Israel. Authorities confiscated 15 hand grenades.

Separately, police foiled a suspected assassination attempt in the Arab community of Jisr az-Zarqa, near Haifa. Officers intercepted a vehicle and seized a Carlo-type weapon and a matching cartridge. Four minors from Jisr az-Zarqa were arrested.

The crackdown comes amid a surge in Arab criminal violence.

On Thursday, a car bomb in the central city of Ramle killed four people and wounded nine others. On Friday, a car bomb exploded in the Old City of Akko, injuring a man in his 30s, his son, and three other people. Police said the bombing appeared to be a criminal dispute. Also on Friday, a man in the Israeli-Arab town of Tira was shot and killed.

According to the Abraham Initiative, a non-profit organization that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, 168 Israeli-Arabs have been killed in violent criminal incidents in 2024. In 2023, a record number of 244 Israeli-Arabs were murdered, more than double the 120 homicides in 2022.

The spike in violence is attributed to organized crime groups fighting turf battles and trying to eliminate rivals. Arab criminal organizations have been involved in extortion, money laundering, and trafficking in weapons, drugs and women.