Israel’s Ben-Gvir accused of inciting deadly raids

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s National Security Minister, has been accused of inciting raids on Palestinian homes in Negev that resulted in Israeli police killing a Palestinian man, as reported by the Middle East Eye and agencies on January 4th.

On the evening of January 3rd, Mohammed Hussein al-Tarabin, 35, was shot dead by police during a raid in the Tirabin al-Sana region of Negev; his family say he was shot as he opened the door.

The Negev Desert is situated roughly 30km from Israel’s southern border with Gaza, and has previously been the location of Israeli military outposts due to its proximity to the Gaza Strip.

According to a statement by Israeli police, Tarabin had “endangered officers during the operation.” Tarabin, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was also accused of torching vehicles in nearby Jewish villages, which his family denies.

For nearly two weeks, the Tirabin al-Sana has been subjected to escalating violence at the hands of police, who have conducted raids, issued fines, arrested Palestinians and ordered homes to be demolished.

Palestinian residents of Negev have accused Ben-Gvir of spearheading the raids that killed Tarabin, which they claim he uses to bolster electoral support.

The raids are supposedly being conducted by Israeli police to restore “sovereignty”, along with “law and order” within the area.

Ben-Gvir, who joined the police on three raids, is responsible for overseeing the police, and praised the officers who killed Tarabin, writing on X that “I commend the fighters who took action; they have my full backing.”

He leads the far-right Jewish Power Party and has previously expressed support for Israeli authorities who kill Palestinians; in November, he promoted the commander of a police unit after the unit killed two unarmed Palestinians in Jenin.

On December 31st, Ben-Gvir urged police to “thrash” Palestinian children who throw stones at Israeli security officials; Jewish Power members have also demanded that Palestinians who burn waste be executed because they have designated waste burning as terrorism.

Furthermore, Ben-Gvir is a vocal supporter of a bill that would impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis on “nationalistic grounds.”

Along with being the National Security Minister, Ben-Gvir is a trained lawyer who has built a reputation for defending Jewish Israelis accused of anti-Palestinian violence and incitement.

Ben-Gvir’s open contempt for Palestinian life is well-documented and has led to several nations imposing sanctions on the minister; in December, several Jewish Power politicians wore noose-shaped pendants to show support for a Palestinian death penalty.

A group representing Palestinian citizens of Israel, the High Follow-Up Committee, has called for an end to  “raids, siege and collective punishment” in Tirabin al-Sana.

Middle East Eye and agencies, Maghrebi.org