Israeli cabinet approves funds for national guard under Ben-Gvir
Israel’s cabinet has voted for major cuts to government ministries to fund a controversial “national guard” led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Several ministers initially opposed the project, but finally agreed on Sunday at the urging of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Israeli media reports, adding that the budget for the project is about $276 million.
Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from West Jerusalem, said the guard will be funded “by skimming about 1-1.5 percent of all other ministries’ budgets.”
Ben-Gvir says the armed unit, which would report directly to him, is crucial in the fight “against terrorism”.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid denounced cuts to health, education and security budgets for allocating money to what he calls Ben-Gvir’s “private army”.
“The government’s priorities are ridiculous and despicable. All it cares about is denouncing democracy and promoting extreme fantasies of delusional people,” Lapid said on Twitter.
Ben-Gvir’s plan calls for the unit to work with the police and military and tackle nationwide “civil unrest”.
Critics warn that Ben-Gvir could use the force of about 2,000 troops specifically against anti-government protesters or the Palestinian and Arab population.
David Tzur, former Tel Aviv police district commander, told Al Jazeera there is no need for a separate police force.
“I think we need to strengthen the existing police force,” Tzur said.
“We cannot accept that there will be any form of law enforcement that is not the responsibility of the police commissioner. It is very strange that the government should decide to create another police force [unit] and the feeling that it would be a private militia or that it would parallel the existing armed forces… it would be a disaster.
Smith said the formation of a national guard is still a few months away.
“The Attorney General has told the Cabinet that she is not convinced of the legality of this new National Guard. She said there is a legal hurdle to proceeding with the current draft as of now… it also has parliamentary hurdles to clear,” Smith said.
Ben-Gvir power
The vote comes after Ben-Gvir outlined plans to establish a national guard, proposing that the force be placed under the direct control of his ministry.
The proposal, published Wednesday evening, called for a new armed unit of about 2,000 military personnel who would answer directly to Ben Gvir, who would be deployed across the country to fight crime, “terror” and strengthen governance.
Netanyahu agreed to the plan to stave off Ben Gvir’s resignation after the minister threatened to quit if Netanyahu delayed controversial reforms to Israel’s judiciary despite months of protest.
Ben-Gvir, an Israeli settler previously convicted of inciting racism and supporting a “terrorist” organization, has long argued that a national guard was needed to fight lawlessness.
The Israeli minister has also called for more Jewish access to the grounds of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Such a move would be seen as provocative by the Palestinians and as a possible harbinger of Israel taking full control of the holy site.
Ben-Gvir plans to set up a committee with representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Israel Police and the Israel Defense Forces to oversee the creation of the force. feed.
Strong opposition
Civil rights groups and opposition politicians have expressed deep concern over the proposal to form a national guard led by Ben Gvir.
Former army chief Gadi Eisenkot said the formation of a body directly subordinate to the Minister of National Security was a “serious event that destabilizes the principles of the use of force in the country and endangers the country,” Israeli media reported.
Before the proposal was published, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel wrote to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to express deep concern about the plan. Hundreds of people gathered in central Tel Aviv last week to protest the proposal.