After spat, cabinet okays Ben Gvir’s pick for new interim head of Prison Service
Minister says Kobi Yaakobi ‘the right man in the right place at the right time’; Israel Police chief Shabtai’s term extended for 6 months, despite Ben Gvir’s initial objection
The government on Sunday approved the appointment of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s pick to serve as the interim head of the Israel Prison Service, replacing outgoing chief Katy Perry who was bitterly criticized by the far-right politician.
Additionally, ministers approved the extension by six months of the tenure of Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, after Ben Gvir was forced to give up his demand that a new police chief be immediately installed.
Perry, the outgoing prisons chief, had initially said she was not going to seek an extension of her term, but then decided she would stay on after Hamas’s October 7 massacres sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.
However, Ben Gvir objected to that, sparking a coalition crisis since Benny Gantz and his National Unity party had joined an emergency wartime cabinet based on a promise that no senior officials would be replaced during the war.
After extensive efforts to arrive at a compromise that satisfied both Ben Gvir and Gantz, Perry said last week that she would leave the position this month.
Kobi Yaakobi, a veteran police officer, was tapped as the new acting Prison Service head. He had been serving as security secretary to Ben Gvir, sparking some criticism that the nomination was politically motivated.
“He’s the right man in the right place at the right time,” Ben Gvir said in a Sunday statement after the extension was brought to the cabinet for formal approval.
According to the Walla news site, Ben Gvir slammed Perry during the cabinet meeting on Sunday, saying she had “preferred weak, obedient people around her, and appointed the current administration accordingly.”
The cabinet also approved extending Shabtai’s tenure by six months, after it was announced by Ben Gvir last week. Like the spat with Perry, the issue had caused political tension when the Otzma Yehudit party leader said in June that he would not extend Shabtai’s term by the customary year.
Under the extension, Shabtai will remain in his post until July 17.
Both Shabtai and Perry were due to end their tenures in January, and both had previously said they did not intend to seek extensions, but that changed after the October 7 onslaught and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war.
As part of the agreement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud made with Gantz’s National Unity party, senior state officials were not to be replaced during the war, and their tenures were supposed to be extended.
In keeping with the deal, Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich gave Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron a second five-year term last month.
Michael Horovitz contributed to this report.
