While Israel continues to confront threats along its borders, another front has been steadily expanding - within its cities, neighborhoods and highways. It is not driven by ideology, but by organized crime. Yet from the perspective of public safety, the consequences are strikingly similar: car bombs, automatic weapons, innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire and a growing sense of fear.
The number of vehicle bombings in recent weeks is staggering - even for those familiar with the criminal landscape. Both the frequency and the sophistication of these attacks signal a dangerous escalation.
A car explosion in northern Israel amid a suspected organized crime assassination
A person driving through Israeli streets with an explosive device or an assault weapon on the way to assassinate a rival is not merely a criminal targeting another criminal. He poses a direct threat to everyone around him - drivers, pedestrians, children and families. For the citizen who happens to be nearby, it makes little difference whether the violence is motivated by ideology or organized crime. The danger is immediate, real and often even closer to home.
This is why, while the legal distinction between terrorism and organized crime remains clear, our national security doctrine must evolve. Organized crime is not terrorism. However, the scale, sophistication and public risk it creates increasingly require a security-oriented response similar to that employed against other major threats.
When criminal organizations operate with intelligence networks, military-grade weapons, explosive devices, sophisticated smuggling routes and coordinated operational capabilities, the state must respond accordingly - with intelligence, enforcement and proactive operational measures.
The challenge extends far beyond street violence. Illegal arms trafficking, drug smuggling, money laundering and, in some cases, financial relationships with hostile actors create an ecosystem in which criminal infrastructure can also undermine national security. The lines between criminal enterprise and broader security risks are becoming increasingly blurred.
Liran Segal Photo: CourtesyIsrael does not lack capabilities. Israel Police possess world-class intelligence, investigative and operational units staffed by highly skilled professionals with advanced technological resources and extensive operational experience. The question is no longer whether the capability exists, but whether there is sufficient national resolve to employ it within a broader and more determined strategic framework.
What is required is a fundamental shift in policy: dedicated legislation, emergency legal authorities where appropriate, expanded intelligence and investigative tools, deeper cooperation among all security and law enforcement agencies and recognition that combating organized crime is no longer solely a policing issue - it is a matter of homeland security.
This is not because criminal organizations are terrorist organizations, but because the threat they pose has long outgrown the definition of "ordinary crime." It is about protecting our communities, our neighborhoods and ultimately our homeland.
This war is already underway. The only question is whether we will continue treating each assassination as an isolated criminal incident or recognize the broader pattern and respond with a comprehensive national security strategy.
Homeland security does not begin at the border. It begins on the streets where citizens live, work and raise their children. When those streets are no longer safe, the issue is no longer simply law enforcement-it is national security.
- The author is a consultant and lecturer specializing in intelligence, homeland security and privacy protection.