Ben Gvir petitions High Court to let him interfere in police use of force, accuses police chief of wanting ‘blood’ at Haredi protests

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir accuses police chief Daniel Levy of ordering “harsh violence” against Haredi protesters to appease the opposition following Tuesday’s election, and petitions the High Court to cancel an April injunction that forbids the minister from interfering in the police’s use of force.

The petition says “a quote from Levy saying he ‘wants to see blood’ reached the minister’s ears” over the past two weeks, and that as part of that policy Levy ordered officers “to make increased use of clubs and stun grenades to disperse demonstrations” by “extremist Haredi factions.”

Ben Gvir also accuses Levy of going abroad in recent days without the minister’s approval and of failing to show up to work meetings on unspecified occasions.

“The urgency of the request stems from genuine fear of a clear danger to human life and of bloodshed, given events over the past two weeks,” the petition says. “Canceling the injunction is required for the minister’s immediate intervention to rein in the means of enforcement in a proportionate and equitable manner.”

The petition singles out police action against Haredi anti-enlistment protesters in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh and at the Geha Junction near Bnei Brak on Thursday and Sunday.

Ben Gvir also says that “as part of the chief commissioner’s recent moves,” Levy transferred the head of the police’s Dan precinct, which includes Geha and much of Bnei Brak, to command the Ayalon precinct, which covers the area of south Tel Aviv and sees fewer Haredi protests.

The officer, Commander Elad Klein, had good relations with the Haredi leadership and struck the proper balance between “the right to protest and the right to public safety,” the petition says, claiming that Klein’s transfer was not approved by Ben Gvir and was therefore illegal.

Ben Gvir “can’t look away while there is such a serious departure from protest enforcement policy… especially in comparison with protests by other groups from a different side of the political divide,” the petition says.

On X, Ben Gvir writes that Levy “was a chief commissioner who carried out my policy until the results of the election, and now it seems he’s preparing himself for Segalovitz of Ra’am.”

Yoav Segalovitz, an ex-MK and former senior police officer, mounted an unprecedented run this election as an avowed Zionist at no. 2 on the candidate slate of traditionalist Arab party Ra’am.

Ben Gvir, citing “the outlandish images from the Geha Junction,” accused Levy on Thursday of “sucking up to the leftists” after having “carried out my every request” over the previous 18 months.