From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 4, 2026
Netanyahu said to vow that he will not fire Ben Gvir, despite AG pressure
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly declares that he will not fire National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, entering into a tense exchange with Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon over the matter during today’s cabinet meeting.
According to the Ynet news site, Netanyahu states that Ben Gvir’s firing “will not happen,” after which Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs insists that “there is no precedent for dismissing a minister without an indictment.”
Fuchs adds that to do so would “break the system” and be “the end of democracy,” after which Limon shoots back that “there needs to be an independent police force, Ben Gvir is damaging this.”
“For example, last night a citizen was shot in Tarabin and Ben Gvir didn’t investigate but immediately backed [law enforcement]. This is interference in an investigation,” Ynet quotes Limon as saying, prompting Netanyahu to reply that his comments are “simply embarrassing.”
In a High Court filing last week, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said that Ben Gvir systematically abuses his powers, and Netanyahu must be ordered to explain why he hasn’t fired him.
A month ago, Baharav-Miara endorsed petitions calling for Ben Gvir’s dismissal and has previously accused the far-right minister of exercising undue influence over the police, a force meant to operate independently, and has said that he has violated a compromise the two agreed on last year. Ben Gvir has maintained that he is fulfilling the will of the voters who elected him and branded the attorney general a “criminal.”
Charlie Summers contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.