Court gives Ben Gvir 5 days to promote officer involved in PM’s corruption trial

The Jerusalem District Court gives National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir five days to sign off on the promotion of Supt. Rinat Saban, a police investigator whose advancement he has been blocking for months over her involvement in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial.

If the far-right minister has not complied with the decision by Monday, Saban will be promoted regardless of whether or not he signs off on the move.

Ben Gvir is 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 continues to flout a prior decision ordering her promotion to the rank of chief superintendent.

Judge David Gidoni last month found 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.

Gidoni now writes this afternoon that the far-right minister is “not acting to comply with the [previous] judgment.”

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 last year shortly after her testimony, and last month admitted that he sought to stifle her career due to her involvement in the purportedly “illegal” investigation of the premier.

Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy has 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, who is 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.