Former police officer and Medal of Valor recipient: Council head arrested in protection racket operation
Ahad Rahal, head of the Al-Batuf Regional Council and a former police officer who received the Police Medal of Valor, was arrested in Operation "Shadow Guardians" against extortion of protection money in the north. He is among more than 50 suspects arrested after a ten-month undercover investigation. His son and brother were previously involved in similar cases.
Ahad Rahal, head of the Al-Batuf Regional Council, was arrested in Operation "Shadow Guardians" against extortion of protection money in the north. Rahal, 55, is a former police officer who received the Police Medal of Valor in February 2002, after his fellow officer, Ahmad Mazariib, was killed in a car bomb explosion. He was elected council head in 2018 and re-elected in 2024 with 56% of the vote. Rahal's son and brother were previously involved in similar cases. The arrest was part of a large-scale operation by the Coastal District and Lahav 433, involving about 500 police officers targeting dozens of suspects. According to the suspicion, it involves a mechanism for collecting protection money from contractors and business owners through fictitious security companies. Rahal is suspected of involvement in the case, and his investigation continues.