Ben-Gvir Clashes With Police Chief Over Budget for Lavish Projects

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai are reportedly in a severe dispute over hundreds of millions of shekels from the Ministry of National Security's budget. Ben-Gvir sent a sharp letter to Shabtai on Thursday, accusing the police of requesting funds for non-urgent and extravagant projects.

The dispute arose after Shabtai requested the transfer of hundreds of millions of shekels, promised for procurement and construction, which Ben-Gvir had instructed to delay. Ben-Gvir criticized the planned use of the funds and expressed concerns about the police's budget management, stating that the NIS 20.9 billion already transferred should have met their needs. He hopes the money was not mismanaged or wasted on items outside work plans, as he claims occurred in previous years.

According to Ben-Gvir, an internal ministry review revealed planned expenditures including an NIS 80 million command bunker for the commissioner, a NIS 7 million renovation for Lahav 433 (the National Fraud Investigation Unit), and the purchase of hundreds of executive vehicles not intended for police stations. He also noted a demand to replace vehicles for commanders in various units and districts, despite their scheduled replacement not being until 2027-2029.

Consequently, Ben-Gvir decided to re-evaluate the allocation of funds for the police, prison service, and fire department. Instead of transferring the money directly to the police, he ordered the ministry to directly procure urgent items for officers. Ben-Gvir stated that since the police do not belong to the commissioner and officers in the field should not suffer from extravagant projects or attempts to curry favor with the media, his ministry will directly handle purchases for operational vehicles or facility renovations to ensure proper use of funds.