Ben Gvir visits police HQ after taking over ministry that controls the force
Far-right minister gets tour of facilities and tactical weaponry from police chief Kobi Shabtai; the pair have repeatedly locked horns recently

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir paid his first visit to police headquarters in Jerusalem on Monday since taking over his government post, where he received a tour of the facilities from Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and deputy commissioner David Bitan.
“The police force today is strong, but it needs to be stronger,” the ultranationalist Ben Gvir declared in front of police officials, days after he entered office, receiving unprecedented powers over police policy as part of his coalition agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Yes, there will be challenges and things to do, but I came today to say thank you to you, your partners and your families. At the end of the day, you are the ones paying the price for our safety. With God’s help, it will be for the victory of Israel,” Ben Gvir said.
“I don’t know who the police officers vote for, and I don’t care. I fought my main battles so that there would be reinforcement for our police in the field,” he said, adding that he wants “immunity for police so that each police officer knows we have their backs.”
Addressing Ben Gvir, Shabtai asked the minister to look around at the “hundreds of years” of police experience in the room, before declaring: “We have one of the greatest police forces in the world.”
“Our motivated police officers are imbued with belief, and come with a mission to protect and serve… we see it in our daily work [despite] all the challenges.”
Both Shabtai and Ben Gvir acknowledged the need to raise police officers’ salaries, as well as adapt the force to the increasing security challenges facing the country, without specifying exactly what these challenges are.

After a tour of police tactical weaponry, Ben Gvir sat down to sign the guestbook, as is customary.
“Thank you for the sacrifices, the struggles, the hours, the nights and the days. With God’s help, we will add to and strengthen the forces… to create an even stronger police, because a strong police force is a strong Israel,” Ben Gvir wrote.
Shabtai has previously publicly criticized legislation that granted Ben Gvir increased control over the police force, claiming the move would erode public trust in the force.
Speaking during a heated debate at a temporary Knesset committee set up to review the legislation which was subsequently passed by the Knesset, Shabtai insisted he was not opposed to change but asserted that the provisions set out in the new legislation would have “dramatic consequences” on police operations and needed to be more thoroughly evaluated.
In a separate incident, Ben Gvir claimed that Shabtai had requested four Black Hawk helicopters for personal use earlier in 2022, despite official documents apparently indicating that they were intended for firefighting. Ben Gvir had pointed to the issue of the helicopters as an example of why new legislation should be passed that would give the minister broader powers at the expense of the police chief.

Following a string of public run-ins, Ben Gvir reportedly threatened that he would remove Shabtai from his post “within days” of becoming national security minister. Later, however, Ben Gvir told Hebrew media he “had no plans to fire Shabtai.”
On Sunday, Ben Gvir ordered police to tear down Palestinian flags from any public place, though officers were reportedly nonplussed by the new policy, which appeared to be an ad hoc response to a freed terror convict waving a Palestinian flag last week.
Ben Gvir, leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, said in a statement from his office that he had ordered Shabtai to implement the new policy, a symbolic measure liable to increase friction between police and Arab Israelis who identify with the Palestinian national struggle.
He had earlier in the day rebuked police for not preventing public celebrations of the release of Palestinian terror convict Karim Younis, who was freed last week after serving 40 years for murdering an Israeli soldier.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report