The national security minister is described as a “immediate danger to the security” of Israel in a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Itamar Ben Gvir, a member of the far-right coalition and national security minister, has been urged to be fired by six former Israeli police chiefs and 42 deputy police commissioners.
The former police chiefs cautioned that Ben Gvir presents “a tangible and immediate danger to the security of the State of Israel” in a letter that was released on Friday.
In the letter to Netanyahu, who leads one of Israel’s most right-wing administrations in history, Ben Gvir is accused of contributing “significantly” to the police force’s issues and warned that his continued appointment as minister might result in the “collapse of the Israeli police.”
A meeting without Ben-Gvir was also requested by the police chiefs in order to “present ideas that would strengthen the police force” and “expand on the factors that led to this situation.”
Since entering office six months ago, Ben Gvir has openly fought with Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and made many attempts to influence the police service politically.
Palestinian residents of Israel announced general strikes and demonstrations earlier this week in response to the “inaction” of the Israeli police following a mass shooting on Thursday that left five people dead.
One of the deadliest shooting-related crimes in the nation in recent years, the attack occurred at a time when the murder rate in Palestinian towns and villages inside Israel was at an all-time high.
In these shootings this year, more than 90 people have died, as opposed to about 30 during the same time period in 2022.
Palestinians claim that police have done little to protect them from organized crime gangs that have long terrorized their neighborhood.
In an effort to weaken the social fabric of their community and make them feel unsafe, some claim that Israeli authorities have collaborated with criminals.
Ben Gvir began a series of punitive actions against Palestinians residing in occupied East Jerusalem earlier this year, which some Israeli officials warned might lead to heightened tensions.
Harsher conditions
Israeli prison authorities, who fall under Ben Gvir’s purview as minister of national security, have also started enforcing harsher conditions against Palestinian detainees, such as closing the canteen, cutting off hot water, and taking away kettles and single gas hobs used to heat food.
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who ordinarily reports to the top state leader, recently cautioned Ben Gvir that he was “making a sensation of aggregate provocation”, in East Jerusalem.
Bar warned Ben Gvir, “This is agitating [East] Jerusalem and may cause a broad flare-up at this sensitive time,” but the warning was apparently ignored.
Under tension from the clergyman, Israeli police have likewise progressively utilized viciousness on a large number of Israeli dissidents who have walked as of late against a dubious government intend to update the legal framework.
