Proposed bill said to give Ben Gvir, cops power to jail Israelis without charge
Measure set to be introduced would enable use of controversial administrative detention for crime-fighting, not just terror; Otzma Yehudit MK reportedly looking to bypass AG
A bill set to be introduced to the Knesset would grant National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir sweeping powers to direct police to take far-ranging actions against suspects who have not been charged with any crime, including jail for months at a clip, expanding the oft-criticized administrative detention mechanism used against terror suspects.
The proposal would allow Ben Gvir to impose renewable detention orders for up to six months at a time and restrict suspects’ movements, communications and access to employment or international travel without needing to file charges or to present evidence.
The proposed bill (Hebrew link) is set to be filed by Otzma Yehudit lawmaker Zvika Fogel, the chairman of the Knesset’s National Security Committee, Channel 12 news reported Sunday. By introducing the bill as a private member’s bill rather than a government bill, Otzma Yehudit will be able to skip preliminary steps that would have enabled the government’s legal advisers, particularly Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, to raise objections.
The legal feasibility of employing administrative detention to fight crime is unclear. Ben Gvir has already clashed with Baharav-Miara for blocking several of his initiatives.
According to the proposal, Ben Gvir will be able to approve administrative detentions for up to six months, if requested by the police commissioner and with the approval of the attorney general or state prosecutor, or one of their deputies. The controversial practice of administrative detentions, currently used by the defense minister against terror suspects, allows individuals to be held without charge for six months at a time, renewed indefinitely, while allowing military prosecutors to keep suspects from being able to see the evidence against them.
Under the proposal, the mechanism can be used against anyone “if the minister is convinced there will be harm to the public if they are not in detention.”
Aside from the expanded powers to jail citizens, the bill grants the minister to act alone in ordering restrictions on where a person can live or visit, limit who they can speak to, forbid them from using the internet and place curbs on what they can purchase or what services they are allowed to receive or actions they are allowed to perform.
The sweeping administrative detention mechanism is mostly used against Palestinian terror suspects, but has also been employed against Jewish extremists, making its use a consistent target of Ben Gvir’s vituperations.
According to the channel, Ben Gvir’s office confirmed the proposal and described it as a last resort brought about by the inability of law enforcement to deal with crime using existing tools.
The far-right politician, who before entering the Knesset in 2021 served as a lawyer specializing in the defense of Jewish terror suspects and provocateurs, has long railed against the use of administrative detention against Jewish suspects, including as recently as March in response to the detention of four settlers. He himself has multiple convictions for supporting a Jewish terror group and for incitement to racism.
Since taking up the role of national security minister, Ben Gvir has sought to exercise more direct control over police operations and personnel, including a botched attempt to remove the Tel Aviv police commander, and has pushed to expand his powers, in moves critics say tamper with the independence of the police.
Despite running on a platform of keeping citizens safe, Ben Gvir has faced intense criticism over rising terror attacks and a sharp jump in murders in Israel’s Arab communities since late December that has left 102 people dead in 2023 so far, nearly triple the 35 slayings recorded to this point last year.
Many Arab community leaders blame the police, who they say have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignore the violence, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars, and violence against women. The communities have also suffered from years of neglect by state authorities.
The head of a police unit tasked with fighting crime among Arab Israelis, Deputy Commissioner Natan Bozna, resigned on Tuesday. No reason for the departure was given by Bozna or the force, and police did not announce a replacement.
The announcement came a day after Ben Gvir said he would appoint a policy coordinator to help address the rampant bloodshed.
On Sunday, he reportedly joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in pushing for the Shin Bet to get involved in fighting crime. The security agency has rejected the proposal; its leader Ronen Bar has reportedly sought to convince politicians that doing so would distract from the Shin Bet’s main task of fighting terror.
Senior officials in the Shin Bet have reportedly expressed worries that they may not have the legal authority to employ tools used in the fight against Palestinian terror on civilians instead.
Last week, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai told a Knesset committee that the force was unprepared for a “multi-front” outbreak of violence across the country such as the rioting and ethnic clashes that accompanied the 2021 Gaza war, pointing to a lack of “manpower, resources, means and equipment” that he said was preventing police from “rising to the occasion.”
On Friday, Channel 12 reported that Ben Gvir lashed out at Shabtai during a call between the two and suggested the police chief was not doing enough to combat the crime wave.
Shabtai is said to have responded that many resources have been poured into securing the anti-government demonstrations since January and fighting an ongoing wave of terror attacks in recent months, and that there “is no 9 billion.” Ben Gvir has touted the NIS 9 billion he says he helped secure for the National Security Ministry in recent budget talks, which the minister has said would go toward wage increases, recruitment, and the contentious establishment of a national guard.
