Judge sets 5-day deadline for Ben Gvir to promote officer involved in PM’s trial

The Jerusalem District Court on Wednesday gave National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir a five-day deadline to sign off on the promotion of Supt. Rinat Saban, a police investigator whose advancement he has blocked for a year due to her involvement in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial.

If the far-right minister does not comply with the decision by Monday next week, Saban will be promoted — regardless of whether or not he signs off on the move, ruled David Gidoni, the presiding judge.

Ben Gvir was additionally fined NIS 2,500 (approximately $800) to cover the costs incurred by Saban and her legal team in filing a motion for contempt of court, as the minister continued to flout a prior decision ordering her promotion to the rank of chief superintendent.

Gidoni found in February that Ben Gvir’s refusal to sign off on Saban’s advancement, despite the wishes of senior police brass, was likely motivated by “extraneous considerations.” As such, he ordered the minister to immediately allow her promotion.

The justice wrote in the latest ruling pertaining to the affair that the far-right minister was “not acting to comply with the [previous] judgment” issued February 9.

Nevertheless, “despite the minister’s statement in his response that he has no intention of promoting the petitioner, I found it appropriate to set a deadline… to allow the minister to act in accordance with the law and comply with the ruling,” Gidoni continued.

“So long as the minister does not comply with the ruling by the aforementioned date, the petitioner’s promotion to the rank of chief superintendent will advance by virtue of the judicial decision,” he said in the decision.

Saban, who serves in the police investigations and intelligence division, helped probe Netanyahu and later testified in his corruption case. Ben Gvir began blocking her promotion shortly after her March 2025 testimony, and in February admitted that he sought to stifle her career due to her involvement in the purportedly “illegal” investigation of the premier.

Israel Police Commissioner Daniel Levy had been seeking to promote the superintendent and argued in a November court filing that Ben Gvir’s refusal to give his final signature “could sow fear among police officers who testify in criminal investigations.”

The minister responsible for police typically signs off on officers’ promotions in rank, but that step was seen as little more than a formality until Ben Gvir took office.