Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has sharply escalated his rhetoric on organized crime and public safety, delivering pointed criticism of the current government's performance on domestic security issues. In an interview with Mako magazine, Bennett, who now heads the Yachad party, drew stark contrasts between his tenure and the present administration's record on violent crime.
Bennett claimed that during his time as prime minister, homicide rates dropped by 20 percent, while under the current government they have doubled—a development he characterized as "a total failure." He went further by issuing a direct challenge to the heads of three prominent criminal organizations in Israel: Jarushi, Hariri, and Abu Latif. "I'm not afraid of gangs," Bennett declared. "I'm the only one saying I will go in and dismantle the three crime organizations. They murder dozens of people every year, because everyone is afraid. No one has the courage to tell them 'I'm coming.'"
Bennett concluded with an unambiguous message aimed at the criminal networks themselves: "I'm saying this from here to the gangs: I'm coming for you, I'm going to dismantle your operations and throw you in jail. You will flee from the State of Israel, I'm not afraid of you."
The former prime minister's unusually direct language represents a significant escalation in political discourse around organized crime, which has become an increasingly urgent issue for Israel's Arab and Jewish communities alike.
