Gallant said to bash Ben Gvir over bid to expand administrative detention powers

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly slammed National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir over demands he be granted power to jail suspects without charge, as the government continued to show little interest in the measure.

Ben Gvir, head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, has been seeking government support for a proposal that would grant his ministry the right to issue administrative detention orders, which allows a suspect to be held without formally filing charges. Currently, only the defense minister has the power, used mainly in national security cases, but Ben Gvir, whose ministry oversees the police, wants to expand the measure to be used in the battle against an ongoing deadly crime wave in the Arab community.

During a cabinet meeting on Sunday, the pair exchanged harsh words on the matter, the latest in a series of angry spats between the uneasy allies. During the argument, Ben Gvir, a former terror convict, boasted to Gallant of his personal experience with administrative detention, according to Channel 12 news.

“I know [the matter] 1,000 times better than you, I was subject to administrative detention,” he reportedly said.

Ben Gvir has a long history of arrests and convictions for far-right activity, including incitement and support of a terror group. He was considered such a security risk as a teenager that the IDF refused to allow him to enlist in the military.

Gallant reportedly retorted: “The fact that you made a career out of actions like this, and it brought you to the Knesset, doesn’t make you an expert in administrative detentions.”

About 1,000 Palestinians and just a handful of Jewish Israelis are in custody under administrative detention, which requires the defense minister’s signature, upon recommendation of the Shin Bet. The order allows suspects to be held without charge, trial, or access to classified evidence against them for renewable six-month terms.

The bill pushed by Ben Gvir would grant him parallel authority and allow him to jail criminal suspects without trial, provided he thinks the person poses a danger to the public and the move was requested by the police commissioner and had the approval of the attorney general, the state attorney, or one of their deputies.

But on Sunday, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation pushed off a vote on Ben Gvir’s legislation for the fourth week in a row, this time without setting a future date for its deliberation.

The move appeared to be a victory for Gallant, who according to Channel 12 had demanded that other ministers back his position.

“Someone who is walking around with a jerrycan is planning to set a fire, not graffiti,” the defense minister reportedly said, adding that “I read every [administrative detention] order 30 times before I sign it… I am acting by virtue of my authority against terrorism, even when it comes to Jewish terrorism.”

While Ben Gvir has sought to be granted access to expanded power to jail Arab suspects without charge, he has repeatedly slammed the use of administrative detention against Jewish terror suspects, including in the recent settler riots. Before entering the Knesset, Ben Gvir had a long legal career defending so-called hilltop youth who had been arrested and detained on terror charges for violence against Palestinians.

The Kan public broadcaster reported that on Sunday Gallant demanded Ben Gvir explain his double standard on the issue, to which the national security minister replied: “It’s very simple, you’re issuing administrative detention orders to those who damage property, and I want orders against murderers.”

On Monday, Gallant signed administrative detention orders against three more settler youths suspected of involvement in last month’s settler rampages in Palestinian towns. The right-wing legal aid group Honenu said the three were arrested by the Shin Bet and police in the early hours of Monday morning and have not been brought before a court.

The latest measure brings the total number of Jewish suspects held for the attacks to eight.

According to Kan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to favor at least some expansion of Ben Gvir’s powers, saying that “Arab citizens are living in hell. I always opposed such measures, but when you’re using tools to stop his horrible thing, this spreading cancer, you can find a balance and use restrictive measures.”

Since the start of this year, violent crime in the Arab community has claimed 124 lives, compared to 116 during all of 2022, according to the non-profit Abraham Initiatives.

Since his appointment in December, Ben Gvir has sought to exercise more direct control over police operations and personnel, including an ultimately successful drive to remove the Tel Aviv police commander, and has pushed to expand his powers, in moves critics say tamper with the independence of the police.

On Saturday, Ben Gvir declared that he was “not asking for advice” from the Shin Bet on the crime wave gripping the Arab community, but rather only to deploy the internal security agency’s advanced anti-terror tools against Israeli criminal suspects.

Carrie Keller-Lynn contributed to this report.