How National Security Minister Ben-Gvir Took Over Israel's Police
Senior officials say that from the national level on down to sub-district commanders, Ben-Gvir has seized control of and politicized the police through a reign of terror and deep interference in appointments
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at the swearing-in of the police's Coastal District commander last year.Credit: Fadi Amun
No roads were blocked by demonstrators last Saturday night at the regular weekly protests against the government in Tel Aviv. Just after 10 P.M., however, the familiar signal was given at the intersection of Kaplan and Menachem Begin streets. The mounted police, the Yasam riot police unit and Border Police officers were deployed against the protesters.
Water cannons were used. Officers arrested people aggressively and indiscriminately. Thirty-four people who had posed no threat whatsoever ended the night in handcuffs, only to be released by a judge the following morning without restrictions. Others were simply soaked, shoved and knocked to the ground.
The events were even more extreme than prior demonstrations in the city, but they are also part of a long-term trend. The treatment of demonstrators by the police's Tel Aviv District has changed significantly over the past year, since district commander Ami Eshed was removed and replaced by Maj. Gen. Peretz Amar.
Amar, who aspires to become police commissioner, appears to understand that he has to satisfy the cabinet minister with authority over the police, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. He has transformed the district police's ethos to match his own: use force and figure the rest out later. While Ben-Gvir once made sure to visit the district's command-and-control center, officers now do his bidding by default. Amar is no exception to this rule. He represents it.
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"The minister is conducting a reign of terror over all of police brass," says a senior security official, a sentiment that is echoed by others in the upper ranks. "The police have been taken over by Ben-Gvir, which is devastating. "The police won't carry out the government's directives [and] are instead [fulfilling] the minister's whims according to his wishes."
Senior officers say the takeover of the police seems to have become the norm across all the country's security agencies, from the Shin Bet security agency and National Security Council to the Israel Police itself. Ben-Gvir speaks with officers on the ground, giving them backing for the use of force. He also talks to senior officers, including district commanders, bypassing Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai in the process. Ben-Gvir may not be the country's top policeman on paper, but sources say that in practice, it's his force – in both senses of the word.
In the months since Ben-Gvir took office almost a year and a half ago, his influence on the police has kept growing, along with warnings about it to the country's political leaders. But on the ground, the warnings changed nothing.
Warning signs
Signs of what was in store began surfacing before Ben-Gvir even officially took office as minister, many sources say. What happened isn't much of a mystery. Police top brass didn't view Shabtai as worthy of his position. He was endlessly fighting with district commanders at meetings and there was a constant effort to satisfy political officials.
One particular day is etched in the memories of a considerable number of security agency officials. It was Ben-Gvir's daughter's bat mitzvah in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba. That day, there was also a promotion ceremony for a new Border Police commander in the West Bank, but Shabtai didn't attend, claiming that he was sick.
Ben-Gvir with Maj. Gen. Amir Cohen at the swearing-in ceremony for the new Border Police chief last year.Credit: Moti Milrod
A few hours later, he sat down next to Ben-Gvir, a gift in hand. Ben-Gvir hadn't even officially taken office as minister. "At that moment," a senior police officer said, "Ben-Gvir realized that he was an obsequious and weak police commissioner."
In fact, the sources say, Ben-Gvir didn't take Shabtai seriously from the beginning. One example came during the Sukkot holiday, just before Hamas' October 7 attack. A group of Jews contacted Ben-Gvir one morning, complaining of humiliating police searches of Jews wishing to enter Jerusalem's Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Officials in the Jerusalem District police were extremely concerned at the time about Jewish worshipers creating provocations, particularly anyone trying to bring goat kids to the site to be sacrificed.
Ben-Gvir was furious and decided to contact Doron Turgeman, the district commander, directly. Officially, Ben-Gvir is required to go through Shabtai when communicating with district commanders, but the minister went around him. Ben-Gvir told Turgeman that police were humiliating Jewish worshipers, adding that there would be no discrimination on his watch. Ben-Gvir also told Turgeman to brief Shabtai and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar as well. According to several sources, Ben-Gvir's anger led to a change in the directives given to police at the flashpoint religious site.
Ben-Gvir has tried to give orders to commanders on the ground on numerous other occasions, particularly regarding anti-government demonstrators in Tel Aviv. The Supreme Court ordered the minister to stop last March, but he continued to give direct orders to district commanders behind Shabtai's back. The commanders acceded to Ben-Gvir's demands more than once.
Kobi Shabtai at the bat mitzvah of Ben-Gvir's daughter in Kirya Arba in 2022.Credit: Ohad Zwigenberg Commissioner
The interference has been particularly blatant in the police's Coastal District, whose commander, Maj. Gen. Danny Levy, has been in direct contact with Ben-Gvir and his office in recent months. Levy has worked to curb protests in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea and demonstrations in Haifa and Arab towns calling for an end to the war in Gaza, all of which are under his authority.
His officers have frequently arrested demonstrators on baseless accusations, prompting pointed criticism from the Hadera Magistrate's Court and the Haifa District Court. Despite the judges' criticism, the policy on the demonstrations hasn't changed.
The Coastal District has been notably heavy-handed on another issue – enforcing the ban on waving the Palestinian flag, a ban that is legally non-existent. But it's not only Levy who, with a wink and a nod to Ben-Gvir, is doing this. Other district commanders have begun to fiercely enforce the ban.
All of them have been publicly commended on Ben-Gvir's behalf. In general, Ben-Gvir has given support to police on the ground for the use of force – as long as it's used against opponents of the government and its policies.
An unusual letter from the IDF
And sometimes, it works in reverse – not the enforcement of a law (existing or not), but a total lack of enforcement. A recent example is the case of trucks carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and their harassment by right-wing activists. "That's the best evidence of Ben-Gvir's ethos in the police," one senior security official said. "They did everything possible not to enact abide by an explicit national cabinet decision, and in the process, they've damaged national security, plain and simple," he said.
According to several sources, officers in the Southern District, where Maj. Gen. Amir Cohen is the commander, have deliberately dragged their feet on protecting the aid trucks. The sources say this has been the case since the beginning of the year, in coordination with the military.
Haaretz has learned that in February, in an unusual step, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzl Halevi's office sent a letter to the heads of the security establishment alleging that because of the police's conduct and the lenient handling of right-wing activists, many trucks have entered Gaza without inspection. The letter demanded that the police fulfill their responsibility as directed by the country's political leadership and not minimize the conduct of right-wing extremists.
Jewish worshipers at the Temple Mount in March.Credit: Josh Breiner
Security establishment sources say the police's conduct is aimed at pleasing Ben-Gvir. "The result has been that the entire world has seen the trucks obstructed [and] set on fire, ensuring that the aid doesn't get in," a senior source said. "Massive damage."
Not a single indictment has been filed against those blocking the trucks. The few people who have been arrested were released in short order. The situation continued for months, until two trucks were set on fire at the Tarqumiya border crossing last month.
Officials then noted a change in the police following intervention by the Prime Minister's Office, which instructed Shabtai to allocate a sufficient police presence to protect the trucks. National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi issued a detailed document on the matter that was sent to the police. Shabtai decided to entrust the tactical unit of the Border Police with the task. That didn't go down well with Ben-Gvir, who several sources say was enraged.
"That's what I'm paying them a salary for? To protect trucks?" Ben-Gvir fumed at the southern district police commander and Shabtai. The commissioner got the message and informed Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara that Ben-Gvir was violating orders by the Supreme Court.
Quiet, the minister is speaking
Ben-Gvir's approach isn't aimed only at police brass. His ethos is also surfacing elsewhere, like in deliberations by the security establishment and the judiciary.
Police are afraid to say what they're thinking and instead express the minister's position, several sources from one agency say. Deliberations behind closed doors are punctuated by Ben-Gvir's screaming and pounding on the table. Several top officials from the police and Ben-Gvir's National Security Ministry have been in his crosshairs.
"He's a small child who can't see beyond that evening's newscast," said one of them. "He's proposed outrageous ideas without thinking about the consequences for a second."
Shabtai also couldn't hold out against Ben-Gvir. Several sources say that he initially thought that if he was compliant, things would go back to normal, several sources said. However, it only made Ben-Gvir hungrier, and Shabtai was overcome. But he did stand up to the minister at several important moments. He spoke out against Ben-Gvir's attempt to change the law that regulates police action overall, opposed allowing the new national guard to report to the national security minister and argued against letting Jews visit the Temple Mount at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Right-wing activists block aid trucks to Gaza in April.Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz
At a ceremony marking the changing of the guard at the top of the Border Police, Shabtai said that while he oversaw the police, the force would be guided "by only one compass, and that's law and justice." Ben-Gvir responded that the police had to act in accordance with his policies.
Meanwhile, Shabtai has failed to maintain the police's independence, and it has taken a toll on him. "I'm sick because of him," Shabtai has said privately as he counts the days until he retires. But other members of police brass have also concluded that they have two choices – toeing Ben-Gvir's line or incurring his wrath.
There's no shortage of examples, including the change in policy on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. "All of a sudden, the top brass of the police was very supportive of it," said one source, "opening it up as much as possible." Another shift involved West Bank terrorism committed by Jews.
Around three weeks ago, an urgent meeting was convened at the State Prosecutor's Office on the persistent growth of the problem. Shin Bet officials warned that the West Bank was on the brink of escalation, but police representatives minimized the issue. According to several sources, they focused on something else: "the involvement of anarchists from Tel Aviv in the friction in the South Hebron Hills."
Senior police officers said the emphasis should be on Palestinian terrorism rather than Jewish terrorism. "It was as if Ben-Gvir were speaking there and not the police," says one of those who was present. Shortly after his appointment, Ben-Gvir realized that, in addition to successful operations and fighting crime, police brass and the commissioner are mainly interested in appointments.
Shabtai and Ben-Gvir in Jerusalem in October.Credit: Noam Revkin-Fenton
Before Ben-Gvir took office, Shabtai promoted a considerable number of his close associates. But Ben-Gvir had demands of his own. Over the past year and a half, he has promoted a large number of candidates, even when it involved clashing with Shabtai.
Legally, Ben-Gvir is to approve all appointments at the rank of chief superintendent and above. Since that involves hundreds of officers a year, Ben-Gvir's predecessors focused on more senior positions. Ben-Gvir's approach was different. He understood that his influence could be greatly expanded if he interviewed candidates himself. His questions have gone beyond what had been customary. In one example, he asked one high-ranking candidate: "How will you implement my policies?"
He has also insisted on interviewing more junior candidates, interviewing even superintendents, the equivalent of a major in the army, who were candidates for chief superintendent. "It's his attempt to show all the police officers who is really the commissioner and who's the boss," says a senior police source, "and what kind of ethos he expects from officers, even at junior ranks and in positions that are not central."
A partial list of officers interviewed by Ben-Gvir includes candidates for the commanders of the police stations in Kiryat Malakhi, Sderot and Rahat and the the commander of the police's Yasam riot control unit in the Judea and Samaria Division's Judea Sub-district, where he lives. He also interviewed candidates for commander of Border Police battalion in the Old City of Jerusalem and the operations division of the Carmel Sub-district.
"Ben-Gvir is holding the officers and the police hostage and is making cynical use of his authority for personal revenge in addition to his desire for officers to realize that they need to conduct themselves according to his ethos and not the ethos of the commander," a senior police source said.
A protester and police at a demonstration in Tel Aviv last month.Credit: Tomer Appelbaum
Last month saw an extreme example when Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party's social media accounts featured an announcement of the appointment of Chief Supt. Avraham Mevorach as the Lakhish Sub-district's deputy commander. "It casts a political shadow over the appointment process," says one police source. Another source adds, "We all understand what Ben-Gvir wants to hear and understand that's how they'll get promoted."
They can also just see the situation in examples like the promotion of Superintendent Meir Suissa, an officer the Tel Aviv District operations office. He was questioned twice by the Justice Ministry's police misconduct unit on suspicion of attacking demonstrators and promoted under Ben-Gvir as commander of the central Tel Aviv police station.
Another matter is the promotion of Yossi Tsaada to commander of the Yasam unit in Tel Aviv. Tsaada is of the officers under investigation for beating protester Amitai Aboudi. Yasam is a key unit for suppressing demonstrations in the city and has come under criticism. Sources say its officers feel that they have automatic support from the top.
It seems that the question is not just whether to use force, but also against whom. Ben-Gvir has sharply criticized police officers documented using violence against ultra-Orthodox demonstrators. A notable example is the incident at Mount Meron last month, when the minister bypassed the police commissioner to directly go the Border Patrol commander and demand that he suspend the officers.
Ben-Gvir at the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem in February.Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
Shabtai wrote to Baharav-Miara again, and 24 hours later, Ben-Gvir tried to dismiss him, despite not having the authority to do so. Although the attempt failed, but given what's said about campaign against police brass, this was likely just one event and not the whole picture.
A critical half hour
As Shabtai's term draws to a close, Ben-Gvir has told him that his successor will be his deputy, Police Maj. Gen. Avshalom Peled. However, the appointment is subject to approval of the government's committee on senior appointments, which may be delayed because of a recommendation from 2015 by the police's misconduct unit not to promote him to major general.
Meanwhile, Peled has already expressed his agreement to appoint IDF Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter to a position in the police at Ben-Gvir's request. "How is it possible to agree to such a thing without proper administrative work, without a proper meeting? Is he suitable at all?" asked a senior police officer. "Peled has already capitulated to him."
Besides police commissioner, there are several key posts to be filled in the next six months. One of them is head of the police branch for investigations and intelligence, considered an extremely sensitive post; commander of the Jerusalem District; and commander of the Judea and Samaria District, which covers the West Bank and the settlements there.
The commander of the Tel Aviv District, a critical post with respect to the protests in the city, is also due to retire. The winds from the national security minister's bureau are unquestionably felt ahead of these appointments.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military secretary, Avi Gil, was invited to a conversation with senior police commanders. This was part of the round of exit conversations with senior defense establishment officers to mark the end of his three-year term. During that period, he saw how civil servants and police officers were weakened.
Supt. Meir Suissa arrests a protesters in Tel Aviv in February.Credit: Tomer Appelbaum
Several sources say that Ben-Gvir's name was not mentioned in the conversation, but that he had an explicit request for the majors general around him, telling them to stand up for their opinions and values, that much of the fate of the country depended on them, and to let their conscience be their guide.
Soon afterward, some senior commanders attended a special meeting at the Knesset in which they whispered with Ben-Gvir and his aides. Shabtai sat on the sidelines, buried in his chair. He shook hands with Ben-Gvir. Peled indifferently, ostensibly still just a candidate, and Israel Prison Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi – the minister's defense secretary before his appointment, made despite him having no experience – were embraced. The message had been sent.
The Israel Police said in response to a request for comment, "We regret the attempt to drag the Israel Police into a political debate and attribute any political bias or extraneous motive to its actions. The Israel Police has been and will remain apolitical and free of any political aspects.
"The Israel Police will continue to steadfastly protect these principles and serve as a law enforcement body free from external influences of any kind, even if, unfortunately, outwardly and in the media, there are those who say otherwise, over which the Israel Police have no control.
As for the intervention in the appointment of officers, we state that outstanding officers and commanders with extensive command experience and professionalism serve the Israel Police, and the most suitable officers are chosen for the different posts at the conclusion of a regulated process that conforms to all the required processes and authorizations before officers are promoted.
Maj. Gen. Avshalom Peled with Shabtai in Jerusalem last month.Credit: Oren Ben Hakoon
"As for the claims about non-enforcement on humanitarian aid trucks to Gaza, we note that the Israel Police assists the IDF in this national mission, in accordance with the instructions of the political and security echelon and at the orders of the police commissioner, the police deployed special forces there to exercise its authority in this matter. As for the claims about visits to the Temple Mount, we note that there has been no change in the enforcement of orderly conduct with respect to violations at the Temple Mount.
"The Jerusalem District commander follows current procedure, which has been in place for many years, as testified by the many large events held in Jerusalem in recent months. The actions of the Jerusalem Police and the discretion of the district commander and commanders in the field was and continues to be professional and relevant."
Ben-Gvir's office offered no relevant response.