Israel’s political and legal crisis deepened Sunday after National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir claimed that officials connected to the attorney general’s office attempted to blackmail him, warning he would be fired if he did not approve a disputed police promotion.
The allegation was made during a heated cabinet meeting, convened days after Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara asked the High Court of Justice to order Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to explain why he has not dismissed Ben-Gvir over alleged interference in police operations.
“Someone from the attorney general’s environment tried to extort me,” Ben-Gvir told the meeting, according to participants. “They said that if I didn’t appoint Rinat Saban, I would be fired. You, Gil Limon, know who that person is.”
Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon denied the claim, calling it false. He said the legal criticism focused on Ben-Gvir’s conduct regarding policing policy, including the Temple Mount, and alleged violations of previously agreed limits on the minister’s authority.
Netanyahu intervened forcefully, making his first public comments on the issue since the attorney general’s move. “This is not going to happen,” he told Limon, referring to Ben-Gvir’s dismissal. “The demand to fire him is embarrassing. The arguments are absurd.”
The prime minister compared Ben-Gvir’s public backing of police officers involved in a fatal incident overnight to similar cases in which defense ministers and senior officials publicly supported soldiers while investigations were still underway.
Several ministers used the meeting to attack the legal establishment. Justice Minister Yariv Levin said similar demands had been raised in the past against other ministers, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused legal officials of strengthening Ben-Gvir politically by targeting him.
Baharav-Miara has argued that Ben-Gvir has systematically abused his authority to influence police investigations, promotions and crowd-control decisions, undermining the independence of law enforcement and violating democratic norms. In a filing to the High Court, she described him as acting like a “super police commissioner.”
Ben-Gvir has rejected the accusations outright, dismissing the attorney general’s position in a brief statement last week and accusing legal officials of acting out of political hostility.
The High Court process is expected to take months and could escalate into a constitutional crisis if judges order Ben-Gvir’s dismissal and the government refuses to comply.