Ben Gvir says he won’t extend term of prisons chief, sparking coalition tensions
Far-right minister accuses IPS head Katy Perry of failing to carry out his policies; National Unity says decision violates its coalition agreement, calls on Netanyahu to intervene
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir told Israel Prison Service Chief Commissioner Katy Perry on Tuesday that he would not be extending her tenure, stating that he lacked confidence in her leadership.
In a lengthy letter to Perry, Ben Gvir detailed a list of what he said had been her failures as head of the IPS, and said she had refused to implement his policies and even worked to thwart them during his time as minister.
In response, Perry slammed Ben Gvir’s decision, describing it as “an unsurprising decision by an irresponsible minister,” and rejected his claims against her as “unfounded and baseless.”
The National Unity coalition party also objected to the ultra-nationalist minister’s decision, saying it violated the terms of its coalition agreement whereby senior state officials would not be replaced during its time in the government.
Perry’s tenure had been due to end in January and she announced back in July that she would not seek an extension to her time in office. But last week she informed Ben Gvir that she now wished to remain as head of the service, citing the ongoing war and security instability as the reason for reversing her decision.
“As you know, during the past year, gaps and disagreements have emerged between us to the point of complete mistrust, something which cannot be reconciled and which is harming the course of work [of the IPS],” Ben Gvir wrote in his reply to Perry on Thursday.
“You have refrained from implementing my policies, and more than once acted against them,” he continued.
Ben Gvir berated Perry for several incidents during her tenure, first and foremost for what he said was were the negotiations conducted by the IPS with Palestinian security prisoners over the terms of their incarceration, in order to ward off a hunger strike.
“The IPS, under your leadership, acted by any means and at any cost, in order to placate accursed terrorists and to achieve ‘industrial quiet’ in the prisons,” the minister alleged.
He also accused Perry of mismanaging events in the Rimonim Prison in June, after the IPS refused to allow the son of the head of an organized crime family to leave prison for the funeral of his father, who had been shot dead.
Ben Gvir alleged that the IPS lost control of the prison to the inmates during the rioting and the incident was resolved by an agreement between the prisoners and the head of the prison.
After listing another two incidents, the minister wrote that the trust between him and Perry “could not be repaired” and said he would therefore not extend her tenure.
Perry rejected Ben Gvir’s allegations shortly after he made the announcement Tuesday evening.
“An unsurprising decision by an irresponsible minister that combines unfounded and baseless claims, a detachment from reality and childishness that show his lack of understanding of the prisons service,” Perry said in a statement.
Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben Ari denounced Ben Gvir’s decision and the manner of his announcement, calling it “repulsive” and “full of lies.”
She specifically condemned Ben Gvir’s allegation that Perry negotiated with terrorist inmates, saying the IPS chief had acted professionally and had saved lives.
Responding to Ben Gvir’s decision, National Unity warned that replacing senior officials “at this time harms the functioning of the country during a time of war and is not right.”
In a statement to the press, the party said: “We expect the prime minister to prevent this harm to the country’s security and not allow decisions based on political considerations in the management of the campaign [in Gaza].”
In addition to the decision on Perry, Ben Gvir also announced that he had met with Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai to discuss extending his tenure, since the three-year term of the police chief also ends in January, and said that another meeting will be held on the issue.
Shabtai said in a joint statement with Ben Gvir in June that he would not seek an additional year in the job, although the minister has claimed that Shabtai repeatedly requested that he be granted the extension.
