New ministers delay changing authority over several settlements from IDF to police

Transfer of security responsibility for 13 towns near Jerusalem was set to begin Sunday, but Netanyahu, Gallant, Ben Gvir agree to postpone it by 30 days to examine issue further

By Emanuel Fabian

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30 December 2022, 6:46 pm Edit

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Friday announced they were postponing a plan to transfer security control of West Bank settlements on the outskirts of Jerusalem from the army to police.

It was the first decision the new ministers made since entering the role on Thursday, after Netanyahu’s new government was sworn in.

Currently, the Israel Defense Forces are responsible for the security of 13 Israeli settlements on the outskirts of Jerusalem, including the city of Ma’aleh Adumim. Not all the towns are guarded by IDF troops; some are protected by private security guards outsourced by the Defense Ministry, and others by Border Police officers.

The previous government had decided, based on a 2006 government decision, to transfer control of the settlements from the IDF’s purview to the police to free up military forces. The move had been set to occur Sunday.

Netanyahu, Gallant and Ben Gvir held an assessment on Friday regarding the move. A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said the transfer of authority would be delayed by 30 days in order to examine the matter further.

The PMO said the Defense Ministry had not yet “transferred the required measures” to enable the move, citing a recent assessment held by Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and the commander of the Border Police, Amir Cohen.

Likud leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with Otzma Yehudit party head Itamar Ben Gvir at a vote in the assembly hall of the Knesset on December 28, 2022. (courtesy, Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Local residents had protested the decision, claiming police were not prepared to provide adequate security. They demanded to continue the existing arrangement.

Ben Gvir has been reported by Hebrew-language media to be planning to pull a Border Police division out of the West Bank and place its 16 companies in southern Israel to tackle crime instead.

According to a coalition deal signed between Ben Gvir’s extreme-right Otzma Yehudit party and Netanyahu’s Likud, Border Police may later be sliced off entirely from the Israel Police, and the gendarmerie force would be placed under the direct control of the new National Security Ministry.

The military believes Ben Gvir’s planned move of forces to the south of the country would significantly harm its operations in the West Bank and require it to summon dozens more reservist units to make up for the loss of forces that routinely conduct security operations in the area alongside the army.

Also on Friday, Gallant met separately with the outgoing defense minister Benny Gantz and IDF chief Aviv Kohavi to discuss security matters.

IDF chief Aviv Kohavi, left, meets with new Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv, December 30, 2022. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

A formal changing ceremony at the Defense Ministry will take place Sunday. Kohavi is due to end his tenure on January 17, to be replaced by Herzi Halevi.