Baharav-Miara blocked the promotion of police officer Meir Suissa to the rank of inspector general, due to an indictment filed against him last July, after he threw a stun grenade at anti-government protesters in March 2023.
Ben-Gvir, the controversial far-right minister, ordered the promotion last week, praising Switzerland and condemning what he said was “political pressure to target a police officer who appears to have acted according to the instructions he was given.”
But local media reported that “the attorney general’s office sent a letter to Ben-Gvir informing him that without the necessary clarification or a letter of recommendation from the police chief, it is not legally possible to promote Suissa.”
In response to the decision, Ben-Gvir insisted that he would go ahead with his promotion order, saying, “If the attorney general wants to overturn the minister’s decision, I welcome her before the Supreme Court.”
“All the steps required by law and in accordance with the powers of the national security minister have been taken to promote him,” the minister added, according to The Times of Israel, referring to his supposed new position. “The attorney general is a recommendatory position, not a decision-making one, and therefore Suissa is the inspector general,” he added, referring to his supposed new position.
Ben-Gvir has become notorious in recent months due to his extremist views that have been highlighted by the media, especially regarding the Gaza war, which is approaching its one-year anniversary.
Ben-Gvir is the most vocal opponent of a deal to end the war and recover Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the ruling coalition, effectively bringing down the government, if he goes ahead with the deal.
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