National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir participated last night (Monday) in operational activity in the town of Toba Zangaria, along with fighters and volunteers from the Border Guard's HITAR unit.
The unit operates, among other things, in the fight against crime and the collection of protection fees throughout the country.
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During the tour, the minister received an operational overview from commanders and fighters about the daily confrontation with crime and protection elements, toured the forces in the field, was impressed by the operational means and the activity against criminals - and heard about the complex challenges that the fighters face in the field.
The minister also met with residents and business owners in the area, who shared the difficulties they are experiencing due to the protectionism phenomenon. They asked the minister to continue and deepen the fight against the phenomenon.
During the tour, the minister was presented with enforcement data in the fight against the collection of protection fees, which shows that in recent years there has been a consistent increase in police activity in the field: the number of investigation files opened for protection offenses increased by approximately 401%, from 1,515 files in 2022 to 2,125 files in 2025.
At the same time, the number of indictments jumped by more than 100% - from 222 indictments in 2022 to 460 in 2025.
Minister Ben Gvir said during the tour: "Since the beginning of the term, we have begun to address the phenomenon of protection. We passed a protection law, I established two protection divisions in both the north and the south. I defined a clear goal for the commanders: protection = war.
The statistics speak for themselves - the cases are doubling, the indictments are doubling from 2022. And yet, there is still a lot of work to be done. This is a phenomenon that has been neglected for decades, no one wanted to touch this hot potato.
The main problem with protection is that some citizens are afraid to complain. I say everywhere: Don't be afraid, you must complain. When you complain, it works. Don't be afraid, the Israel Police is with you.
"And you have to understand that you shouldn't give in to criminals - today they demand your business, tomorrow your house. What will be the next step? And as soon as the police get to them, you discover that behind all the shows are toy criminals - wretched, cowards and vile. You have to complain and the police will do the job.".
