"I have recently asked the security agencies' legal departments, and the Shin Bet [Israel's domestic security agency], to consider listing Lahava as unlawful," Ya'alon said on Twitter.

He went on to stress that the Israeli government would not tolerate "racism," which, he asserted, threatened the quality of life in Israel.

"I did this because we have to fight to prevent all forms of discrimination against people because of race, color, sex or ethnic preference," Ya'alon said.

He said those who promoted hatred for Israel's Arab minority posed a threat to Israeli society in general, which, he claimed, was characterized by diversity.

Lahava members, the defense minister said, constituted a dangerous "underground" phenomenon in Israel.

Lahava is a radical organization that opposes mixed Jewish-Arab marriages and the assimilation of non-Jews into Israeli society, according to Israeli police spokesperson Luba Samri.