Ministry of National Security utilized about half of the budget for fighting crime in Arab society

The Ministry of National Security utilized less than half of the budget allocated for combating crime in Arab society, according to data published for the first time by Haaretz. Out of 1.5 billion shekels allocated, only about 748 million shekels were actually used. The budget implementation was accompanied by political disputes and delays, while cuts were made to complementary welfare programs.

The Ministry of National Security utilized less than half of the budget allocated to the Israel Police under Government Decision 549, which is intended to combat crime in Arab society. According to data published for the first time by Haaretz, out of a budget of about 1.5 billion shekels allocated for this purpose, only about 748 million shekels were actually used. Decision 549 is a multi-year government plan formulated to eradicate violence and organized crime in Arab communities. The budget implementation over the past two years has been accompanied by political disputes, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other ministers raising claims about the leakage of funds from Arab local authorities to criminal organizations. Following these claims, some budgets were delayed and conditioned on the establishment of special oversight mechanisms. Concurrently with the delay in implementing police budgets, cuts have recently been made to complementary government programs in welfare, prevention, rehabilitation, and youth care in Arab society. Some budgets originally defined as civilian were redirected to bolster enforcement mechanisms and Shin Bet activities. According to data from the Abraham Initiatives organization, 176 Arabs have lost their lives since the beginning of 2026 in circumstances related to crime and violence, of whom 152 were shot to death and seven were stabbed to death. In the corresponding period last year, there were 179.