The police raided targets in Tuba Zangaria and arrested 14 suspects on charges of arson and extortion of protection money in the Sea of Galilee area. May 22, 2023 (Israel Police Spokesperson's Office)
Even before the 14 suspected protectors were arrested in the community of Tuba Zangaria on Monday morning, unknown assailants set fire to the offices of the Zachar industrial zone in Rosh Pina, which is located near the village. A source close to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that he "focused on the north, especially Tuba, and already a month ago an operation was conducted." A thread that apparently led to the arrests was findings of an arson attack on a bus in Moshav Tefahot near Merer and an investigation into an attack on a guard at a work site near Kibbutz Gadot in the Hula Valley.
In the past two years, arson attacks on buses have become a recurring phenomenon in the north. It is believed that the arsonists are sent by elements trying to take over transportation lines or trying to collect payment from the owners of the companies and thus assure them that they will not be harmed again. Recently, private cars and trucks were also set on fire at a car sales lot in Kiryat Shmona, and boats were set on fire in a docking lot near the Sea of Galilee.
Another area common in the phenomenon of extortion of protection money is damage to mechanical-engineering tools used in earthworks and the construction of infrastructure. The large vessels stay at night at the work sites and are an easy target for criminals. Even in these cases, the criminals offer the owners of the companies to provide quiet in return for payment.
The raid and arrest in Tuba Zangaria, this morning (Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson's Office)
The same source close to Ben-Gvir noted that the minister asked for the arrests to be consistent. "No one is deluding himself that one such operation will eradicate the phenomenon," he said. "We also understand that the most significant thing here is the short blanket of the police, the budget and the standards."
The fire crews who arrived at the fire in the offices in Rosh Pina identified that the fire protection systems in the building extinguished the fire and prevented the tremendous damage that could have been caused. No injuries were reported, and it is suspected that the fire was caused by non-payment of protection money.
No suspects have yet been arrested in setting fire to the offices, but by coincidence, police forces and Border Police officers entered Tuba Zangaria a short time later and arrested ten suspects there on charges of extortion of protection money and arson. At the same time, four other suspects were detained in the village of Rumat al-Haib and Gush Halav, and in the moshavim Alma and Dubev. The 14 suspects will be brought to the Nazareth Magistrate's Court later today with a request to extend their detention.
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