Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right security minister of Israel, said on Sunday that he will establish a national guard to combat Arab unrest. His political opponents accused him of instantly organizing a “sectarian militia.”
During the Gaza Strip war in May 2021, when pro-Palestinian rallies erupted in areas with a mixed Jewish and Arab population, the previous government started making plans to form an extra police force to prevent domestic political violence. This government fell apart prior to the completion of the force.
According to a statement issued by the prime minister’s office, a group comprised of all Israeli security agencies will discuss the capabilities of the new national guard and provide recommendations within 90 days.
Initially, it was uncertain who would lead the national guard.
The head of Israel’s police force, Inspector-General Yaacov Shabtai, allegedly issued a letter to Ben-Gvir voicing his reservations about the new force.
Ben-Gvir, a radical Jewish settler, rose to prominence in Israeli politics in part as a consequence of the turmoil in 2021. He was previously convicted of terrorist assistance and incitement against Israel’s Arab community, which comprised 21% of the country’s population.
As a result of his softer attitudes on a number of subjects, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has granted him additional authority in the ministry of law and order.
Ben Gvir has described the national guard to the media as a modernized version of a program begun by the previous government. When asked where its deployments might occur, he specified only Arab areas in Israel and along its borders with the Palestinian West Bank that had been touched by unrest or violence.
“The army would concentrate on this”
When asked what the police were doing, he said, “The police is occupied with a thousand and one things,” but the army would concentrate entirely on this.
Arab legislators have referred to Ben-national Gvir’s guard as a “militia.” Several opponents of the government’s judicial reform program have accused Ben-Gvir of wanting a new army to quell demonstrations around the country.
Ayman Odeh, an Arab lawmaker, questioned on Twitter why Israel needs a national guard because it already has an army, police, military intelligence, the Shin Bet, Mossad, the National Security Council, the Prisons Service, riot police, and a SWAT squad.
Ben-Gvir said that 1,850 individuals will be able to join the new force immediately due to government funding. Some of these individuals may be seconded police officers or volunteers from the Arab community.
It would take months to establish the national guard, he noted, and in the meanwhile he was trying to replace vacant jobs in the police department.
According to the news website Ynet, Israeli police commander Shabtai questioned the need for the national guard and warned that separating it from the police hierarchy “may be extremely costly and might compromise the security of the public.”
Ben-Gvir acknowledged the letter’s authenticity, stating that he would meet with Shabtai on Monday and that he was prepared to discuss putting the national guard under the command authority of the police “if they’re serious and really want it.”
