AG: Ben Gvir obstructing justice by blocking promotion of cop involved in PM’s trial
Baharav-Miara accuses minister of abusing his power, damaging rule of law in refusing to promote Supt. Rinat Saban; says decision swayed by political considerations
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In a stern letter sent to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara accused the far-right leader of witness intimidation and obstruction of justice over his refusal to promote a police officer involved in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial.
Ben Gvir has for months been blocking the promotion of Supt. Rinat Saban, a high-ranking officer in the police Investigations and Intelligence Division.
Critics of Ben Gvir, legal experts, and the attorney general herself have accused the minister of using police promotions like Saban’s as a carrot-and-stick to shape cops’ decision-making and advance his far-right agendas via law enforcement.
His refusal to sign off on Saban’s promotion led to an overt clash with law enforcement officials last week, as the Israel Police issued a rare official statement against Ben Gvir’s publication of a letter alleging Saban struggled with “memory issues.” The police statement did not mention the minister by name.
In her letter to Ben Gvir, Baharav-Miara accused the minister of factoring political considerations into his decision to hold off on Saban’s promotion, calling his behavior “highly unusual and unprecedented compared to past police promotions.”
Baharav-Miara warned Ben Gvir in the letter that it was “not just inappropriate but also an abuse of power” for the minister to wield his authority in a manner that could deter “police officers… from handling criminal cases against government members or their associates, intimidate witnesses in such proceedings and disrupt the proper procedure of criminal proceedings.”
“A phenomenon such as this, whose damage to the rule of law is extremely severe, is unacceptable,” she said.
According to the letter, Ben Gvir already signed off on Saban’s promotion to the rank of chief superintendent in December 2024, conditional on her completing the police command and staff course
After Saban completed the course in April 2025 — a month after she testified against Netanyahu in court — Ben Gvir’s signature was once again required as a formality confirming her advancement in rank, Baharav-Miara said.
“Your required signature for the actual conferral of the rank is a formal act, stemming from custom, and is not necessary under the Police Ordinance. This custom cannot be misused as a means of arbitrarily withholding a promotion in rank,” wrote the attorney general, demanding he sign off on Saban’s promotion without delay.
In addition to her testimony against Netanyahu in March, Saban also investigated the premier’s advisers Jonatan Urich and Ofer Golan on suspicion that they harassed Shlomo Filber, a state witness in Case 4000 — the most serious of the three cases against Netanyahu.
The premier is alleged in the case to have secured regulatory favors for telecommunications mogul Shaul Elovitch in exchange for positive press coverage from a news outlet he owned.
‘Blatant violation’ of April compromise
Baharav-Miara called Ben Gvir’s behavior a “blatant violation” of the principles outlined in a legally binding agreement he came to with her in April, under which he committed to curbing his involvement in police promotions and operational decision making.
The compromise was a precondition laid out by Baharav-Miara before she agreed to defend Ben Gvir in the High Court against petitions demanding his dismissal.
Writing to Ben Gvir, the attorney general said “these principles were intended precisely to prevent the kind of situations that are described above,” referring to Saban’s promotion being delayed.
Earlier Monday, Baharav-Miara said in a filing to the High Court that despite their agreement, Ben Gvir had continued to exploit his powers to undermine police independence, which could justify his dismissal as national security minister.
The letter sent Monday morning was requested by the High Court in late April, after Baharav-Miara announced her agreement with the far-right minister. She was meant to provide an update on Ben Gvir’s adherence to the legally binding compromise by July 15, but instead did so six days late.
In the letter, she wrote that the arrangement with Ben Gvir is “not without difficulties, and monitoring the actual implementation of the principles will be far from simple on a practical level.”
The ongoing difficulties in implementing the restrictions were seen as indicating that Baharav-Miara could backtrack on her conditional legal support for Ben Gvir against petitions for his dismissal.
Baharav-Miara, whom the government has been seeking to oust from her position, requested that the High Court give her until August 5 to submit a final update regarding the agreement with Ben Gvir.
The Times of Israel Community.