Businesses across Israel’s southern region are increasingly falling victim to a sophisticated and intimidating “protecktzia” racket, where criminal gangs, primarily identified as Bedouin, are demanding protection money under threat of violence and property destruction.
According to reports from residents and business owners in the affected areas, this form of extortion, referred to locally as “protecktzia,” began gaining traction in the South and has since spread rapidly. The modus operandi involves gangs threatening businesses with vandalism, arson, theft, and other forms of damage. They then offer “protection” from these very threats – often implying protection from rival gangs, though sources suggest the demanding group may be the perpetrator or affiliated.
“They offer the Jews protection from ‘rival’ gangs of other Bedouin who destroy places of Jewish business,” one resident of the Western Negev stated. “They break windows, burn down, steal etc. So the Bedouin take money from the Jews and they place a ‘watch’ over the place, providing a kind of insurance that nothing will happen to the store, restaurant, factory etc.”
The phenomenon is no longer confined to isolated incidents. It is reported to have taken over virtually all businesses in Beer Sheva, has begun affecting enterprises in Ofakim, and has even reached local shopping centers serving moshavim in the Western Negev. Alarmingly, the extortion racket has also started targeting Bedouin businesses within the town of Rahat, indicating its widespread and indiscriminate nature once established in an area. The South is described by affected individuals as being “completely under this mafia control.”
Business owners face escalating demands, with the price for this unwanted “protection” increasing arbitrarily whenever the gangs decide. Resistance is met with severe intimidation tactics, including threats against the business owner’s family, leaving gasoline bottles near properties, smashing storefronts, and looting ATMs or goods. The message is clear: pay or face the consequences, with affected individuals feeling they have “no other option than to pay.”
A significant point of frustration for victims is the perceived lack of effective law enforcement response. “The police won’t touch it,” states one source. “No one will report on it.” While the issue is occasionally mentioned publicly, there is a widespread feeling that concrete action is not being taken, with some attributing this inaction to a desire to keep segments of the population “appeased.” Consequently, many business owners reportedly keep their heads down and avoid speaking out, creating a climate of fear and silence.
The problem is exacerbated by local development initiatives. According to the Negev resident, local councils have encouraged businesses located on private land within moshavim to relocate to designated industrial areas, complete with infrastructure like parking lots and space for larger facilities. However, this move ironically makes these consolidated businesses easier targets for the “protecktzia” gangs.
“As bad as all that is, and it is Horrible, with a capital H,” the resident lamented, “The Jews are held under the thumbs of the mafia Bedouin.” The individual expressed personal defiance against relocating their own olive press and planned wool mill from their property for this very reason, despite facing pressure and potential fines from authorities. “I refuse to move them off of my land for this reason. I will not make it easier for them,” they stated, questioning why authorities would seem to “placate these buffoons.”
The spread of the “protecktzia” racket poses a significant challenge to the rule of law and the economic stability of the region, leaving many business owners feeling abandoned and without legal protection.
