Itamar Ben-Gvir Demands Full Control Over Arrest Powers in West Bank

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's National Security Minister, announced on Monday his support for Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's call to transfer enforcement authority in the West Bank from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to the Israeli Police. However, Ben-Gvir attached several conditions to this transfer, emphasizing that it must include changes in the chain of command and expanded powers.

Ben-Gvir specifically demanded that the Border Police operating in the West Bank be placed under the Israeli Police rather than the IDF, citing that the current coalition agreement supporting this change has not been implemented. Furthermore, he called for transferring administrative arrest and restriction powers, currently held by the Defense Minister and the IDF, to himself as National Security Minister and to the Israeli Police.

He criticized the current underuse of these powers against groups he described as enemies of the state, including anarchists and anti-Zionist movements, stating, "It is time to use these tools against the enemies of the state." Ben-Gvir stressed that merely transferring enforcement responsibility is insufficient without the accompanying authority and command changes he outlined. He concluded that only with these steps can the Israeli Police effectively assume practical responsibility for law enforcement in the West Bank.