Defense Minister Katz Orders Transfer of Civil Enforcement in West Bank from IDF to Police

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to prepare a detailed plan to transfer all civil enforcement powers in the West Bank to the Israeli Police. This directive follows a special meeting held on Thursday with top military officials, including Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, and heads of operations and intelligence. The move aims to allow the IDF to focus on combating Palestinian terrorism and securing Israel's borders, rather than handling civilian law enforcement among Israeli settlers.

Katz explained that the IDF is neither responsible nor equipped to manage civil enforcement in the West Bank, especially given the expected increase in settlers following government decisions to establish 104 new settlements and formalize agricultural outposts. He emphasized that the IDF's primary role is to fight terrorism and protect communities from security threats, not to police civilian matters such as disputes among settlers.

The police will be tasked with creating a dedicated unit to handle these civil issues and will receive the necessary authority and budget to do so. The Defense Ministry noted that this transfer will strengthen governance and law enforcement in the West Bank while freeing IDF forces for their core security missions. However, the police clarified that the implementation depends on agreements between Defense Minister Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and that police actions will follow political directives.

Katz stated, "All responsibility for enforcement regarding settlements and civilian matters will be transferred to the Israeli Police, which must prepare accordingly. This is a significant step in strengthening governance and law and order in the West Bank and allows the IDF to focus on its main missions." The government and IDF will delegate all necessary powers to the police to carry out these tasks.