rewrite this title and make it good for SEOSupreme Court deals more harshly with protection gangs

In recent years protection rackets have become a plague in Israel. According to the Knesset research and information center, in 2024 160 criminal cases were opened against 130 suspects for protection racket violations. 78% of the cases were in the north, 12% in the south, and 10% in other regions. Investigators stress that in practice the crime is much more widespread.

The courts have not sat idly by amid the growing problem and have recently begun handing down harsher punishments.

In fact, jurists identify a trend in the Supreme Court, which began as early as 2023, of rejecting appeals filed by those convicted in protection rackets on the severity of the sentence – and in some cases even making the sentence more severe. Last week, the Supreme Court increased the sentence of Nidal Abu Latif, who was convicted in what was defined as the flagship case of protection racketeering in the north. The Supreme Court judges sentenced Abu Latif to five and a half years in prison, instead of the four years he was sentenced to by the district court. The appeal against the leniency of the sentence was filed by Adv. Omri Kofler of the Economic Department of the State Attorney’s Office.

Abu Latif and his accomplices were convicted of blackmailing A. after he approached them to “replace” the criminals who had initially collected protection fees from him. The convicts agreed to grant A. their protection, but later extorted no less than NIS 2.5 million from him. Judge Alex Stein described the method as the underworld’s refinancing.

A sentence that is just a “slap on the wrist”

Thirteen defendants were convicted in the case. The prosecution sought to sentence Abu Latif to at least eight years in prison, and appealed to the Supreme Court after the district attorney settled for half the term. In his decision to increase the sentence, Judge Stein wrote, “On its face, the prison sentence does indeed not match the severity of his actions and deviates from the standard of punishment for the crimes we are dealing with. Punishments like this are described in the US legal world as a “slap on the wrist.”

In November 2024, the Supreme Court also increased sentences imposed on two other defendants in the case – sentencing Fadi Ertul to 36 months in prison instead of 28 months imposed by the district court, and Khaled Aslan was sentenced to 33 months in prison instead of 26 months. Adv. Cochavit Netzach-Dolev, former Jerusalem District Attorney (Civil) and currently a partner at the Agmon and Tolchinsky, law firm says, “The ruling sends a clear message that punishments should be harsher and long prison sentences should be imposed. I expect that as a result, the district courts will impose more severe sentences in similar cases.”

In February 2024, the Supreme Court increased the sentence of Hamza Dahla from 3 years in prison to 7 years for collecting protection fees in Turan. Another defendant, Naif Dahla, was sentenced to 6 years in prison up from 2.5 years.

“What matters is the fear of being caught, not the sentence”

Justice Yosef Elron wrote: “Dealing with this type of crime requires imposing long prison sentences. The offenses we are dealing with undermine the normal course of life of their victims, cause them to experience distress, humiliation and fear, and even cause them great damage on economic and psychological levels.”

But not everyone is sure that the increase in punishment is effective. Adv. Ori Rinetzkey, a former senior official in the State Attorney’s Office and currently a criminal defense attorney, believes that the increase in punishment is disproportionate.

He said, “Those who think that a severe punishment is a deterrent assume that the offender is rational. But studies show that what has an impact is the offender’s fear is being caught, and not whether they receive four years in prison or five and a half years. They don’t make these calculations.”

Rinatzkey warns: “I bet it won’t help. It’s easier to make the punishment more severe than to increase enforcement. And the enforcement situation is not good. There are excellent units in the police, but it’s worth thinking about what has happened to them in recent years with the politicization of this body, when every police officer looks in the direction of the minister.”

Alongside the existing punishment in the law for extortion by threats, a special law was enacted in 2023 as a temporary order for five years, which created a new offense – collecting protection money. The law imposes prison sentences of six years for such an offense without threats, and seven to nine years for an offense that includes threats. A minimum sentence of 25% of these prison terms was also set.

Data presented by the police to the Knesset Constitution Committee last week indicate that to date 171 investigations have been opened, and 12 indictments have been filed under this law.

“This is a phenomenon that exists throughout the country, not just in construction contracting and agriculture. This is an offense that needs to be changed in the same way as terrorism,” the police representative said in the hearing.

“It is very difficult to bring witnesses to court,” Adv. Itamar Gelbfish, deputy director of the criminal department at the State Attorney’s Office, told the committee, “In cases like this, we encounter very great difficulty in bringing witnesses to court, because there is inherent fear.” This phenomenon is known as a “bond of silence,” which discourages victims and witnesses from pointing out those responsible.

The Knesset Constitution Committee is discussing a bill that would allow testimony to be taken in a protection offense without the presence of the accused, but defense attorneys are criticizing the proposal. Adv. Yishai Sharon of the Public Defender’s Office told the committee, “The systems are not yet sufficient to assimilate and implement a single legislative measure, and they are already adding another reform and another amendment to it.” According to him, “This in itself constitutes a difficulty in the fight against crime… There is something very unhealthy about it… The benefit will be marginal compared to the violation of rights.” The fear of violation of human rights is increasing due to the political dimension that the issue has recently taken on. Those who are actively involved in the issue are organizations affiliated with the right, including the Kohelet Forum, which assists the government’s moves against the judicial system, and the “New Watchman” organization. The recent Supreme Court rulings, which made the punishment in this area more severe, were written by judges from the conservative wing of the court.

Economic hardship fuels crime

Despite the harsher prison sentences, the economic hardship in Arab society is also expected to continue to fuel crime. According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics, the employment rate among Arab men is 53%, compared with 68% among Jewish men; and 30% among Arab women, compared with 65% among Jewish women. Nearly half of Arab society lives below the poverty line, and the poverty rate is three times higher than for Jewish families.

A former senior law enforcement official believes that this is the root of the problem. According to him, “The problem is that the state is not breaking the cycle of crime by closing gaps and putting its hand in its pocket. People join criminal organizations as soldiers because it’s easy money. As long as the state doesn’t do enough, protection racketeering will exist and increase.”

Police: “Fighting protection fees – top priority”

Israel Police said, “Police Commissioner Danny Levy has ordered allocation of all Israel Police’s resources to strangle the economic oxygen of criminal organizations. Extorting protection fees is the air that criminal organizations and gangs breathe, and the Israel Police has made fighting protection fees a top priority, with significant activity being carried out in recent months against criminals and gangs who were involved in collecting protection fees from innocent citizens and business owners.

“Recently, and following an unprecedented investigation by the Israel Police into the issue of protection, serious indictments and requests for detention until the end of the proceedings were filed against 13 members of the Abu Latif criminal organization, including the head of the organization. In addition, five key suspects in the field of extortion of protection fees were arrested in the north of the country.

“We stress that every indictment filed is the result of the victims’ trust in Israel Police, which repaid them by bringing the criminals to justice and ending the economic burden imposed on them. Israel Police will continue to act resolutely and deepen its war on criminal organizations that harm the law abiding citizen.”

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on June 11, 2025.

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