Citing legal difficulties, AG says PM can’t appoint Ben Gvir as police minister ‘at this time’

In a terse statement to the press, the Attorney General’s Office says that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “from a legal perspective, it is not possible to appoint” Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben Gvir as national security minister “at this time.”

Baharav-Miara is likely referring to her concerns regarding the legality of Ben Gvir’s actions and behavior when he was serving as national security minister before he quit the government over the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.

In November last year, the attorney general wrote to Netanyahu telling him he must reevaluate Ben Gvir’s tenure, in light of his repeated and ongoing intervention into operational police matters, which the High Court previously told him he must refrain from, and his politicization of police promotions.

She also noted at the time that when the High Court of Justice rejected petitions against Ben Gvir serving as a cabinet minister in 2024, it placed considerable weight on his statement that despite his previous criminal convictions, he had changed his ways.

Before entering politics, Ben Gvir was convicted of a series of security-related offenses.

Ben Gvir is expected to be installed as national security minister once again, with a slew of petitions likely to be filed against the appointment that will probably cite the several occasions he apparently violated High Court orders while serving in the post.