Ben Gvir said holding meetings with top police brass to find a new commissioner
Police minister reportedly sounding out potential replacements, having no intention of extending term of Kobi Shabtai
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has reportedly been holding a series of meetings with top police commanders, sounding them out as he seeks a new police commissioner.
The current commissioner, Kobi Shabtai, has repeatedly clashed with the far-right minister, who has sought to exert greater control over the police force. His term ends in January and Channel 13 reported Monday that he is unlikely to ask for a one-year extension and would not be given one if he did.
The report said the meetings so far are unofficial, with Ben Gvir sounding out the current regional commanders on their interest in the job and their worldviews. He was also asking which of them would stay in the force if they did not get the top job.
Among the current contenders for the post are Coastal Region Police Commander Yoram Sofer, Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman and Border Police Commander Amir Cohen.
The report said Ben Gvir was also speaking with retired commanders, including former Jerusalem police chief Yoram Halevi.
The move comes with police and Ben Gvir under the spotlight for the failure to stop a deadly surging crimewave, particularly in the Arab community, where over 100 people have been killed so far this year.
“The police are way more disorganized than the public can even imagine,” one of the commanders told Channel 13. “Just wait until the real stories emerge.”
Ben Gvir’s relationship with Shabtai started off on shaky ground and has deteriorated from there.
Last month, Shabtai said there had been a “breakdown of trust” in his relationship with Ben Gvir, with whom he has repeatedly quarreled over the past five months since the new coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office and handing the police ministry to the far-right politician.
In an interview with Channel 12 news, Shabtai spoke candidly of tough moments in the past few months and disclosed that he had thought about resigning as police commissioner over Ben Gvir’s intervention in police matters. Since taking office, Ben Gvir has sought to exercise more direct control over police operations and personnel, including a botched attempt to remove Tel Aviv District Police Commander Amichai Eshed from his post in March.
In the interview, Shabtai said his working relationship with Ben Gvir was “not simple” following an incident last month in which the far-right minister appeared to have leaked a private conversation to embarrass the police chief.
Ben Gvir and Shabtai have also repeatedly tussled over the police response to massive nationwide protests against government plans to rein in the judiciary, with the minister pushing for cops to take more aggressive measures against demonstrators, whom he terms “anarchists.”