Ben-Gvir Asked Police Officers Being Considered for Promotion: Are You Loyal? - Israel News - Haaretz.com
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir asked police officers due for promotion if they would "be loyal" during interviews to decide whether they would be promoted, police officers say in private conversations. According to several sources in different law enforcement agencies, the officers were asked to express their loyalty in conversations with Ben-Gvir at his initiative.
Haaretz has learned that the issue has recently become known to the Justice Ministry's unit for investigating police misconduct, which has opened an investigation into this matter. This investigation comes in addition to another investigation that came to light two weeks ago about Commander Avishai Mualem, a senior police officer in the West Bank.
The officers who were interviewed by Ben-Gvir told their commanders and other police officers about the matter. Those they told then contacted the Justice Ministry unit. The officers were asked whether they would act according to Ben-Gvir's agenda and the policy he dictated to them. Several sources said Ben-Gvir's goal is to fill the top ranks of the officers with people who support his policies, which is why he questioned the officers about their loyalty.
- Probes into Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir make attack on Israeli democracy all the more dangerous
- Israel's first political show trial against anti-Netanyahu protesters won't be the last
- An Israel Police commander is suspected of ignoring right-wing extremism for promotion
A senior police officer said that "everyone now knows what they need to do in order to get ahead in the police." Another source in a law enforcement agency added that "this is totally prohibited" and that "officers must be loyal only to the law, not anything else." Some officers were asked if they would answer phone calls from Ben-Gvir.
Ben-Gvir and Police Commissioner Danny Levy are now completing a round of new senior appointments in the police, with Ben-Gvir demanding to personally interview dozens of officers. "He looks for officers who will be subordinate to him, people who owe something to him and his bureau chief, Hanamel Dorfman," says a senior police officer.
One of the chief positions Ben-Gvir wishes to control by appointing an ally is the head of the Border Police in the West Bank. These forces are subordinate to the military Central Command and are used as the military's policing arm. They are involved in the evacuation of unauthorized outposts and in the arrest of right-wing activists.
At the beginning of his tenure, Ben-Gvir attempted to bring the West Bank's Border Police division under the purview of the police to put it under his control. When this failed because of the opposition of then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, he apparently decided that he had to determine the identities of senior police commanders in order to implement his policies on the ground. "Ben-Gvir realized that the way to control the police is to control the person in charge of the force," says a senior police officer.
Chief Superintendent Niso Guetta at the Lod District Court in March, 2023Credit: Ilan Assayag
Ben-Gvir has recently removed Brig. Gen. Barak Mordechai from his post as head of the West Bank Border Police division, putting him in charge of the Border Police's training academy. He has therefore left open the position he wants to fill with a loyal officer. According to several sources, the job is intended for Commander Niso Guetta, who is now in charge of the Judea District in the West Bank. Guetta was promoted to this post by Ben-Gvir a year ago. The minister now plans on promoting him again.
Guetta is responsible for the Hebron area, where Ben-Gvir and his family live. According to a few sources, he grew close to Ben-Gvir's wife, Ayala, when he protected the family home. Guetta is also close to prison service chief Kobi Yaakobi, who is considered the officer closest to Ben-Gvir.
On Monday, Ben-Gvir and Yaakobi were seen in public for the first time since Yaakobi was questioned on suspicion of disrupting an investigation and breach of trust. At a ceremony commemorating firefighters who died during the Mount Carmel forest fire of 2010, Ben-Gvir said he was proud of Yaakobi "for leading a total change of policy in the prison service... The person next to me created a major change and will continue to lead the prison service. That's the way, that's the truth."