Ben-Gvir Demands Defense Ministry, Proposes Justice Portfolio for Glick

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced Tuesday that his party, Otzma Yehudit, will seek the Defense Ministry for himself and the Justice Ministry for MK Tally Glick in the next government. Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem, Ben-Gvir outlined his party's plans for these two senior ministries.

Ben-Gvir's proposed security agenda includes encouraging voluntary emigration from Gaza and Judea and Samaria, dismantling the concept of 'containment' of Palestinian terrorism, disarming the Palestinian Authority, arresting senior terror supporters, changing open-fire regulations to provide more backing for soldiers, increasing soldier salaries, and offering free land to combat soldiers. His plan also calls for revising the progressive ethical code of Asa Kasher and opening elite units, including Unit 8200, to the general public.

Regarding the Justice Ministry, MK Glick's proposed plan involves the immediate dismissal of the current Attorney General as a first step in establishing the next government. It also calls for appointing Supreme Court justices only after a hearing process in the Knesset's Constitution Committee and approval by a two-thirds majority. The plan aims to return the Supreme Court to its 'natural purpose' by re-establishing standing requirements and the principle that not all matters are justiciable, explicitly defining non-justiciable issues. Furthermore, it seeks to abolish the 'candidate selection course,' which the plan describes as a tool of the 'legal junta' to screen judges, and to reform the legal treatment of crime and terrorism organizations, advocating for harsher penalties and deterrence. Finally, the plan proposes canceling the State Attorney's procedure that prevents criminal investigations into offenses like incitement or sedition without prior approval from the State Attorney's office.