Ex-Israeli police chief to Netanyahu: Ben-Gvir could launch coup

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
1 Apr 2023 22:10
2 Shares

A former Israeli occupation police chief says the proposed plan of establishing a "national guard" under the leadership of Ben-Gvir was a "recipe for disaster."

Israeli occupation Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks at his party headquarters in occupied Al-Quds, on November 2, 2022 (Reuters)

Former Israeli occupation police chief Moshe Karadi on Saturday considered that Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir could potentially use his proposed "national guard" to carry out a coup against the Israeli government.

On Monday, Ben-Gvir announced that he agreed with Netanyahu to freeze the judicial reform legislation in exchange for a pledge to greenlight the "national guard".

Karadi said Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be cautious of giving such power to the Police Minister, warning that Ben-Gvir "will use it against him one day."

Speaking at an event, the former police chief said Netanyahu "should learn a little bit of history and see what happens in countries in which politicians have their own armed forces."

"It’s a short distance between this and the fact that he, with this power, could take over the Prime Minister’s Office and launch a coup," he noted.

The Israeli occupation government is set on Sunday to discuss the creation of a "national guard" force of 2,000 officers under the leadership of Ben-Gvir.

The former police chief told the Israeli Channel 12 on Friday that the plan was a "recipe for disaster."

According to The Times of "Israel", Ben-Gvir has multiple times been engaged in the policing of the massive protests against the government's judicial overhaul legislation, including telling police which highways to keep open during the protests, discussing crowd dispersal methods, and visiting police command centers while demonstrations were taking place.

Another former police commissioner, Assaf Hefetz, told Channel 12 that Ben-Gvir’s plans should not be passed, because such a force should not be "under the responsibility of a politician."

"Two bodies can not operate on the same territorial unit," Hefetz said, warning that if the proposed "national guard" is not integrated into the occupation police, "there is a fear that it will be a militia, and that disqualifies it from serving as a police force that works under the law."

On his part, Ben-Gvir rebuked Hefetz and Karadi over their remarks, tweeting that reality shows should give them "a talent contract because their need for attention at my expense is a bit pathetic."

The Israeli Channel 12 reported on Saturday that within Israeli occupation police ranks, the plans for a "national guard" are seen as a "catastrophe".

On Thursday, Israeli media reported that US officials said behind closed doors that the establishment of a "national guard" subordinate to Ben-Gvir was an "insane" step.