Attorney General’s Deputies Slam Ben Gvir Over ‘Improper and Systematic Use of Authority’

Sharon Afek and Gil Limon came out against the national security minister over the delay in appointing officers to sensitive positions in the police, including the spokesperson for the Investigations and Intelligence Division. "The fact that officers are required to take legal action against the minister creates a chilling effect and harms the independence of the police," they said.

Another front is opening between the professional echelon at the Justice Ministry and the national security minister. The deputies to the attorney general, Sharon Afek and Gil Limon, sent a particularly harsh letter to Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, in which they accuse him of deliberately and systematically undermining the independence of the Israel Police by delaying the appointments of officers to sensitive positions.

The background to the current letter is the delay in advancing two senior officers, Deputy Superintendent Reut Rosenberg, whose appointment was reportedly blocked, according to journalist Roy Yanovsky, and Superintendent Itzik Alfasi, whose appointment by Minister Ben Gvir to the sensitive post of spokesperson for the Investigations and Intelligence Division, or AHM, he refuses to sign.

At the Justice Ministry, they warn that even if these appointments are ultimately approved and implemented following petitions to the High Court of Justice and legal intervention, the damage to the organization has already been done. In their letter, the deputies explained the destructive consequences of this practice on the command structure: "The very fact that police officers in sensitive positions are required to initiate legal proceedings against the national security minister, because he is acting unlawfully, creates a chilling effect and may adversely affect the independence of the police."