A special session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s subcommittee on Judea and Samaria examined the status of the rabshatzim, the community security coordinators in the West Bank, and who has the authority to suspend or dismiss them. The meeting was led by MK Zvi Sukkot, who said the issue affects a key layer of local security leadership.
Sukkot argued that rabshatzim are the main source of knowledge and accumulated experience in their areas. “Soldiers and commanders change, but the rabshatzim remain for many years and know the reality on the ground better than anyone,” he said.
According to figures presented by the Defense Ministry, a rabshatz employed by a local authority can be fired by that authority, while the power to cancel the operational appointment lies with the brigade commander. That cancellation can be based on medical or operational unfitness, criminal offenses, violations of security orders, negligence in the job, or improper use of military equipment. Sukkot said that in practice the brigade commander is the one who decides whether a rabshatz can keep the post, even if the formal dismissal is carried out by the municipality. “There is a gap between the formal employer and the body that actually holds the decision-making power over continued employment,” he said.
Lt. Col. Elitzur Trabelsi, the regional defense officer, said the role is especially complex in Judea and Samaria, where the operational reality is different from other parts of the country and requires balancing residents’ security with the coordinators’ ability to do their jobs professionally. Noam Slisberg, head of the IDF civilian employees unit, said the Defense Ministry has tripled the budget used to fund rabshatzim through local councils, while their salaries have more than doubled as part of a move advanced by the Interior Ministry with Finance Ministry approval.
At the end of the session, Sukkot said the committee would hold another discussion with legal and labor-law experts and may pursue legislative amendments if flaws are found in the current authority structure.
