Shin Bet Warns of Terror Cells Forming in Negev Bedouin Communities

Good Morning, Israel · Wednesday, October 7, 2026 · 7:53

Episode 10 · Wednesday, October 7, 2026 · 7:53

Shin Bet Warns of Terror Cells Forming in Negev Bedouin Communities

15301×

0:007:53

1. Shin Bet Warns of Terror Cells Forming in Negev Bedouin Communities
2. IDF Blamed by Police After Draft Dodger Raid Descends into Chaos
3. Accused Flydubai Hijacker Trained as Pilot in Britain and New Zealand
4. Israel's Security Chiefs Confer on Election Security Preparations
5. EU Lawmaker Rima Hassan Criticized for Removing Israeli Flag at Oct. 7 Memorial
6. Netanyahu Told to Remove Election-Related Security Warning Video

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• Overcast
• Pocket Casts
• Castro
• Deezer
• RSS feed

Maya

Israel's internal security chief says terror cells are building military infrastructure inside Bedouin communities in the south.

Daniel

And on the anniversary of October seventh, the army in Gaza is on raised alert over intelligence of planned Hamas attacks.

Maya

This is Good Morning, Israel from baba News. It's Wednesday, October seventh. I'm Maya.

Daniel

And I'm Daniel.

Maya

Let's start in the Negev. Who's sounding the alarm?

Daniel

David Zini, Director of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service. He warned that terror cells are forming military infrastructure inside Bedouin communities in the Negev, and he called it very concerning.

Maya

Quick geography for listeners abroad.

Daniel

The Negev is the desert region that covers most of southern Israel. The Bedouin there are Arab citizens of Israel, many living in towns and in villages the state doesn't formally recognize.

Maya

Military infrastructure is a strong phrase. What's driving it?

Daniel

According to the Shin Bet, three things. Weapons smuggling, radicalization, and propaganda on social media.

Maya

Is anyone acting on it?

Daniel

Yes. Defense officials say they're actively thwarting these efforts.

Maya

And how are Bedouin leaders responding?

Daniel

Largely by rejecting it. They've called the claims politically motivated and denied there's terrorism in their communities. They point instead to years of neglect and to crime, and they want broader social solutions.

Maya

So the security service sees terror, and the local leadership sees a crime and poverty problem.

Daniel

Right. And the two can overlap. Smuggling routes that move weapons for criminals can move them for terrorists too.

Maya

Why does this matter beyond the Negev?

Daniel

Because it's close to major cities and to army bases in the south. A terror infrastructure there would be a threat from inside Israel's borders, not across them.

Maya

Which brings us to today's date, and the alert in Gaza.

Daniel

Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the military to raise its alert level in Gaza. He cites intelligence that the terrorist organization Hamas is planning attacks to mark the anniversary.

Maya

The anniversary of the massacre that started the war.

Daniel

Exactly. And Katz has warned Hamas, and Gaza's residents, of severe repercussions if Israeli forces are harmed.

Maya

So the message is, don't test us today.

Daniel

That's it. The directive is about readiness for whatever scenario comes.

Maya

The Flydubai story now. We've covered it for over a week, so just what's new.

Daniel

Two new things. First, his background. The accused co-pilot, Hamam al Hamami, is twenty-nine, from Oman, and according to reports he trained as a pilot in Britain and New Zealand.

Maya

So his training came from two countries with serious aviation systems.

Daniel

Right, which widens the questions about vetting beyond one airline. Second, the weapon. He's accused of attacking the pilot with an axe before he was subdued.

Maya

An axe. In a cockpit.

Daniel

And he reportedly told investigators it was, in his words, revenge for Gaza.

Maya

Which leaves little doubt about his motive.

Daniel

It confirms what investigators have been saying. This was suspected terror aimed at Israel. And reports say Israeli authorities, including the Shin Bet, were prepared to intercept the plane.

Maya

Meaning Israel had a plan if it got close.

Daniel

That's what the reports say. It never came to that.

Maya

Now, something that unfolded on a residential street in Modiin.

Daniel

Modiin is a city about halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Military Police came to arrest a draft dodger, and hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men, called Haredim, showed up to stop it.

Maya

And it got ugly.

Daniel

Residents describe a terrifying night. Rioters went into people's homes, and a policewoman was injured.

Maya

And now the police and the army are pointing at each other.

Daniel

The police blame the I D F's Military Police for how the operation was run.

Maya

Give me the scale of the problem they're trying to enforce.

Daniel

According to the I D F, in September it made eight arrests out of fifteen attempts. There are eighty thousand registered draft dodgers.

Maya

Eight, against eighty thousand. That's barely a dent.

Daniel

Right. The Haredi draft has been one of Israel's most explosive issues for years, and the war made it sharper. Many families have done long reserve tours while most Haredi men stay exempt.

Maya

What's the mayor saying?

Daniel

Modiin Mayor Haim Bibas called it a serious failure, and said it encourages lawlessness.

Maya

And with the election coming, the Haredi parties are always central to any coalition.

Daniel

Exactly. So every one of these nights becomes a campaign issue.

Maya

Speaking of the election, the security chiefs met yesterday.

Daniel

The heads of the military, the Shin Bet and the police met Tuesday on security for the October twenty-seventh vote. They said they intend to make sure it's carried out properly and safely.

Maya

And the Prime Minister has been told to take something down.

Daniel

Yes. The chairman of the Central Elections Committee, the body that oversees how Israeli elections are run, ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remove a social media video.

Maya

What was in it?

Daniel

A warning that enemies could attack ahead of the election. The chairman ruled it contained elements of electioneering.

Maya

So the warning itself is fine. Using it to campaign is the problem.

Daniel

That's the line the committee drew.

Maya

To Brussels now, and a flag at a memorial.

Daniel

Rima Hassan is a Member of the European Parliament, from France. She admitted she removed an Israeli flag from an October seventh memorial. She says the E U flag fell too.

Maya

A memorial to the victims of Hamas.

Daniel

Right. Her office claims it was a protest against Israel's actions in Gaza. But those actions are a war against the terrorist organization that carried out that massacre, and was holding hostages.

Maya

And the reaction?

Daniel

Other European politicians have condemned her. Pulling a flag down at a memorial for murdered civilians isn't a policy argument.

Maya

Quick round. Taxes and artificial intelligence.

Daniel

The Ministry of Finance is worried that A I will shrink the share of the economy that goes to workers, and with it, income tax revenue.

Maya

So if the robots take the jobs, who pays the tax?

Daniel

Exactly the question. A team led by chief economist Shmuel Abramzon is proposing new taxes on capital, on undeveloped land, on luxury goods and on foreign digital services.

Maya

Undeveloped land is an interesting one.

Daniel

It's meant to push owners to build. The proposals also aim at fair taxation of A I income and cross-border transactions.

Maya

And energy. A gas deal that was cancelled is back on the table.

Daniel

Israel's Competition Authority has approved a supply deal between the partners in Leviathan, Israel's largest offshore gas field, and Dalia Energy.

Maya

Even though the Leviathan partners had cancelled it.

Daniel

Right, which makes their reasons for cancelling harder to defend. The authority accepted the long-term contract and a take or pay clause, meaning the buyer pays for set amounts whether it uses them or not.

Maya

Any conditions?

Daniel

It blocked a restriction on Dalia reselling surplus gas. Starting in twenty thirty, the deal supplies one point three to one point seven billion cubic meters a year, for twenty years, to two new power plants.

Maya

That's the electricity of the next two decades being decided now.

Daniel

Pretty much.

Maya

So what's worth watching?

Daniel

Gaza, today. With the army on raised alert, watch whether Hamas tries anything to mark the anniversary, and how quickly Israel responds if it does.

Maya

Follow Good Morning, Israel so tomorrow's episode is waiting for you.

Daniel

See you tomorrow morning.