During a tour of Sderot, the far-right minister says he ordered the police commissioner to prepare for the possibility of a repeat of ethnic violence in mixed cities, prompting accusations that he spread fear.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir came under fire from across the political spectrum on Wednesday for raising the possibility of renewed violence between Jews and Arabs in Israel's mixed cities as happened two years ago, with police sources accusing the far-right leader of spreading fear.

During a visit to the police station in Sderot, a city that was hit hard in recent days by the shocking attack by Hamas, Ben Gvir said he had instructed Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai to prepare for a “Watchkeeper 2 scenario,” in reference to the ethnic riots. Violence in mixed Jewish-Arab cities that accompanied the previous conflict with Hamas in 2021.

Ben Gvir said his ministry “turned Sderot into a qualified city,” meaning all Sderot residents are now able to obtain and carry firearms as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to strengthen civil security.

He added: “In parallel, I instructed the police commissioner to prepare for the ‘Guardian of the Walls 2’ scenario... and to prepare to infiltrate cities.”

A spokesman for Ben Gvir confirmed that he was referring to the possibility of Arab citizens of Israel rioting in mixed Jewish-Arab cities.

Ben Gvir made similar statements on Tuesday when he announced the distribution of assault rifles to civilian security teams in border towns, West Bank settlements and mixed Jewish-Arab cities.

Ben Gvir said: “This war proves that citizens are heroes, and this war proves how important it is to arm civilians and civilian security teams along with a strong police force.”

Hamas militants infiltrated and occupied the central police station in Sderot during their brutal attack on Israel on Saturday, eventually destroying the building in an attempt to kill the militants.

Social Equality Minister Amichai Shekli (Likud) quickly criticized Ben Gvir’s statements, writing: “So far, the Arab population has shown a lot of solidarity and responsibility, and this applies in particular to the Bedouin population in the Negev, who suffered human losses and missing persons and have shown responsibility and solidarity from Through many initiatives to host families and help afflicted citizens.”

The newspaper “Israel Hayom” quoted an unnamed source in the police criticizing Ben Gvir, whose ministry supervises the police, accusing him of raising the idea of Guardian of the Walls 2 “for his own purposes” and saying that the minister did so in January also before the budget discussions.

The source added: “The police are preparing and prepared, and the evidence for this is that no exceptional incidents have occurred so far.” Naturally, such a scenario is taken into account and we will respond strongly to any case of violence if it occurs.”

The source was also quoted as saying that Hamas is trying to incite Israeli Arabs to provoke violence, adding that Ben Gvir's words may inflame tensions.

Israel's mixed Jewish-Arab towns were the scene of violent riots during the May 2021 conflict with Hamas. Three people were killed and hundreds more injured during days of violent unrest in the mixed cities.

Ben Gvir, who was at the time a Knesset member but not a minister, urged armed Israeli civilians to go to these cities to fight Arab rioters, prompting Police Chief Shabtai, who now still holds his position under Ben Gvir, to blame Far-right politician in riots.