AG’s office demands Ben Gvir allow promotion of senior officer who clashed with him

The Attorney General’s Office sent a letter to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Sunday, urging the far-right minister to stop behaving like the “super commissioner” of police and stop blocking the promotion of a high-ranking officer who reportedly openly disagreed with him in meetings.

The letter, sent by Gil Limon, the deputy to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and was referencing reports that Ben Gvir is standing in the way of the promotion of Chief Supt. Ruti Hauslich, a senior detective.

According to Haaretz, Hauslich has expressed positions opposing those of Ben Gvir in several discussions with the minister, especially when it came to how police should handle incitement offenses.

“You are not supposed to serve as a ‘super commissioner’ and are not the commander of police officers,” the letter read, according to Ynet.

“You aren’t authorized to ‘punish’ officers for their professional work just because it isn’t to your liking,” it added.

“Your conduct raises serious concerns,” Limon’s letter continued, “in a manner that harms the possibility of maintaining the independence of the Israel Police and its character as a state and apolitical body.”

Ben Gvir shrugged off the letter in a post to X: “I heard you, Gali. Your advice was not accepted. We are pressing on with full force.”

This is not the first time Ben Gvir has refused to sign off on the promotion of a police officer, seemingly due to his own considerations. Since last year, he has been refusing to promote Supt. Rinat Saban, another officer in the police’s investigations and intelligence division, who testified against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his graft trial.

Traditionally, the minister responsible for police signs off on officers’ promotions in rank. However, the signature was seen as little more than a formality until Ben Gvir was appointed.

Police chief Danny Levy, who has been seeking to promote the superintendent, argued in a November court filing that Ben Gvir’s refusal to give the final signature “could sow fear among police officers who testify in criminal investigations.”

In July, Baharav-Miara accused Ben Gvir of factoring political considerations into his decision to block Saban’s promotion, calling his behavior “highly unusual and unprecedented compared to past police promotions.”

She warned in a letter to the far-right minister that his behavior was “not just inappropriate but also an abuse of power,” and demanded that he immediately sign off on Saban’s promotion, as his signature was meant to be a formality and was not intended to grant him actual power over the promotion process.

The High Court of Justice is deliberating on petitions that demand Netanyahu fire Ben Gvir as national security minister.

Baharav-Miara has backed this demand, and at the beginning of January urged the court to force the premier “to explain why he is not removing National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from his position.”