Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday said that he intends to press ahead with limiting some tactics used during anti-government protests, including a ban on blocking essential roads.
Responding to a demand by the Attorney General’s Office to postpone the implementation of the policy changes, which Ben-Gvir announced on Thursday, the minister said that he would grant 24 additional hours “beyond the letter of the law” to continue legal consultations.
“Your claim that the authority to set policy is currently suspended is patently illegal,” Ben-Gvir told Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon.
Limon had argued that Ben-Gvir’s powers were constrained by an April “principles document,” which Ben-Gvir had accepted so the AG would defend him at the High Court of Justice against petitions seeking his removal for allegedly interfering in police policy and appointments.
“At this stage it can already be noted that, on the face of it, the document prepared does not conform to those principles,” Limon wrote Ben-Gvir, adding, “In our understanding, it also does not conform to the response of the police commissioner that was conveyed to you on the matter.
“Publishing the policy document in its current form, without a proper consultation process with the police commissioner and AG, would constitute a blatant violation of the principles document,” Limon said.
According to Ben-Gvir, Limon’s claims directly contradict “not only the statutory powers of the national security minister, but also his duty to oversee police activity and ensure that law and order are maintained.”
Ben-Gvir said he “viewed with great severity” the Attorney General’s Office publishing its response before consulting with his office, saying it violated a previous ruling by the High Court of Justice.
Following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion, anti-government activists who protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reform agenda again began demanding the premier’s ouster, this time over his management of the fighting and the hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Rallies have often involved blockades of major traffic arteries such as Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway, in addition to the lighting of bonfires on roads.
Ben-Gvir’s new policy stipulates that emergency routes, hospital access roads, approach roads to Ben-Gurion International Airport, highways and routes to isolated communities “must remain open at all times.”
The policies also include restrictions on rallies that include placing or throwing objects on roads, as well as protests inside houses of worship.
“Freedom of expression and demonstration are important, but not at the expense of human life and public safety,” Ben-Gvir said on Thursday. “This policy balances a right to demonstrate with the police’s duty to maintain freedom of movement, public order and the State of Israel’s security.”
Ben-Gvir had stated on Thursday that if the attorney general failed to respond within five days, the proposed policy changes would automatically take effect.
Israel’s governing coalition has been at loggerheads with the attorney general since its formation after the general election of Nov. 1, 2022.
Gali Baharav-Miara, who was fired as the Jewish state’s attorney general on Aug. 4 but has remained in her position pending legal challenges to her dismissal, was appointed to the post by the previous government led by then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in 2022.
