Ben-Gvir says 'no concessions to Gaza', opposes humanitarian aid

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
15 Nov 2024 18:57
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Israeli occupation Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voices strong opposition to providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

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Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrives for a weekly cabinet meeting, at the Israeli occupation Prime Minister's office in al-Quds, occupied Palestine, Aug. 27, 2023. (AP)

Israeli occupation Police Minister Itamar Ben Gvir expressed his opposition to providing any form of humanitarian aid to Gaza during the ongoing war against the Palestinian people.

Speaking to Israeli media, he stated, "I believe that as long as we have hostages in Gaza, we must not give any concessions to the Strip, not even to the civilian population."

Ben Gvir criticized the recent security cabinet decision to increase aid deliveries to the Palestinian territory, labeling it a "bad decision."

"I was the only one who voted against it," he said boastingly.

'Israel's' Attorney General says Ben-Gvir interfered in police ops'

This comes after the Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara requested Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to reconsider the position of Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir owing to political intervention in police operations, Israeli media reported.

According to Baharav-Miara, this "undermines the assurance that the police will act in loyalty to the public rather than the politicians."

"The combination of the alleged improper interventions in police operations and the dependency of police officers on the minister for their promotions undermines the assurance that the police will act in loyalty to the public rather than the politicians."

The legal pressures on Ben-Gvir stem from accusations that he overstepped his authority by intervening in police operations, particularly regarding protests opposing Netanyahu's controversial judicial overhaul.

In March, the High Court of Justice ordered Ben-Gvir to stop issuing operational directives to the police about managing demonstrations and further restricted his influence over police actions in January 2024.

Despite this, the attorney general and the "State Attorney's Office" contend that Ben-Gvir continued to exert undue pressure on police forces, violating court orders and raising constitutional concerns.

In a letter to Netanyahu after a petition to the High Court of Justice challenging Ben-Gvir's position, she stated that the incidents in the petition, as well as those preceding it, "create a rare, severe, and ongoing pattern of law violations, breaches of duty, and harm to fundamental governance principles, alongside the politicization of police work."

The Attorney General also noted that during his time in office, Ben-Gvir made statements that could dissuade judges from fulfilling their duties, undermine their decisions in the eyes of police officers, intimidate law enforcement officials, and delegitimize investigations into police misconduct by the Police Internal Investigations Department, thus eroding respect for its work.

Netanyahu's office is yet to respond to the letter despite Ben-Gvir describing it on X as “an attempt to overthrow the Prime Minister and the ministers due to their political positions.”

Ben-Gvir has made outlandish and highly inflammatory comments ranging from encouraging the execution of Palestinian detainees, calling for the rebuilding of Zionist settlements in Gaza, and saying he would build a synagogue in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied city of al-Quds.