AG tells Netanyahu that Ben Gvir cannot legally be appointed police minister
With far-right leader set to rejoin coalition, Baharav-Miara likely concerned by his apparent violations of rulings not to involve himself in operational police matters, politicization of promotions
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that it was legally “not possible” to once again appoint Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben Gvir as national security minister.
Her position comes as Netanyahu is poised to bring back Ben Gvir’s far-right party into the coalition after he quit in January over the ceasefire with Hamas.
In a terse statement to the press, the Attorney General’s Office says that Baharav-Miara has told Netanyahu that “from a legal perspective, it is not possible to appoint Minister [sic] Itamar Ben Gvir as national security minister at this time.”
Ben Gvir and Netanyahu announced on Tuesday morning that Otzma Yehudit was returning to the government following the resumption of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Ben Gvir left the coalition in January because he was opposed to the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner release deal with Hamas, but said he would return if fighting resumed after the first stage of that arrangement.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi of the Likud denounced Baharav-Miara on Tuesday after her letter was leaked, saying the position paper she sent to Netanyahu “doesn’t interest anyone, especially not an elected government working in the name of the people.”
Earlier reports in the Hebrew media suggested that Baharav-Miara’s position was that Ben Gvir could return as a cabinet minister, but not to the position of national security minister which has authority over the police due to legal concerns raised over his conduct as minister before he quit the government.
Although the Attorney General’s Office press statement Tuesday night did not provide further details on this issue, Baharav-Miara was likely referring to her concerns regarding the legality of actions and behavior taken by Ben Gvir when he was serving as national security minister before he quit the government.
In November last year, the attorney general wrote to Netanyahu telling him he must reevaluate Ben Gvir’s tenure, in light of his repeated and ongoing intervention into operational police matters which the High Court had previously told him he must refrain from, and his politicization of police promotions.
She made these comments following petitions filed to the High Court in late 2024 asking the court to order Netanyahu to dismiss Ben Gvir for violating the law and High Court rulings as minister.
“It appears that the minister is using his authority to make appointments and end the tenure of officers in a manner which constitutes illegitimate intervention in the operational running of the police,” Baharav-Miara wrote at the time.
She also cited numerous acts of intervention by Ben Gvir into police operations, including publicly summoning senior police officials for a dressing down due to his displeasure at their handling of anti-government protests; declaring at a police operations room that he had gone there to ensure the police carried out his directives for handling protests; and a letter by former police commissioner Kobi Shabtai that Ben Gvir had instructed senior police officers to disregard cabinet orders regarding the protection of humanitarian aid convoys on their way to Gaza.
The attorney general also pointed out at the time that when the High Court of Justice rejected petitions in February 2024 filed right at the beginning of Ben Gvir’s tenure against him serving as a cabinet minister, it placed considerable weight on his statement that despite his previous criminal convictions, he had changed his ways.
Before entering politics, Ben Gvir was convicted on a series of offenses, including convictions for incitement to racism and supporting a terror organization, as well as on charges of disturbing the peace and interfering with a police officer while performing his duty.
If Ben Gvir were to be installed as national security minister once again, a slew of petitions would likely be filed against the appointment and would probably cite the occasions he apparently violated High Court orders while serving in the post to demonstrate that he is unfit for office.
Karhi dismissed Baharav-Miara’s position, saying she would soon be ousted from office and that Ben Gvir as cabinet minister would vote to remove her.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin recently set in motion a process to fire Baharav-Miara, although it will likely take weeks before it can be completed, if at all.
“We’ll begin at the end: Ben Gvir will soon vote, God willing, as a minister to fire the attorney general.
“Her position paper is not binding and doesn’t interest anyone, especially not an elected government working in the name of the people. She did not receive a mandate to determine what the composition of the government could be. She is simply continuing her campaign of revenge with a distorted position paper against the government which intends to fire her. But her political campaign will end exactly like her tenure – soon and in the abyss of oblivion.”
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