Police arrested dozens of members of the Abu Latif and Hariri crime families in an operation aimed at combating extortions and “protection money,” police said.
Working alongside the Border Police, officers targeted dozens of members from these families in the North as well as locations in the West Bank.
The police statement explained that the operation had been planned for over a year, using undercover agents, led by the Northern District Command and the State Attorney’s Office Economic Department.
The Hariri and the Abu Latif families are among the most powerful and dangerous crime organizations in Israel. According to KAN, they are involved in public tenders, the takeover of businesses, and extortion, as well as numerous incidents of violence and shootings.
They are also suspected of being linked to a number of brutal murders in recent years.
38 members of the Abu Latif family detained
In February, 38 members of the Abu Latif family were detained by the police, resulting in 24 indictments for allegedly using blackmail and extortion to obtain local government contracts.
Several infamous members of the family were caught in the operation, including family head Suleiman Abu Latif and former chairman of the Hapoel Ironi Arraba soccer club, Nissim Sah, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for killing a police officer and wounding another in 2021.
The investigation focused on the extortion and blackmail of local contractors to monopolize the market. The family also extorted local businesses for protection money.
Yuval Barnea contributed to this report.