Israel: former police chiefs say Ben-Gvir’s policies will lead to new intifada

Middle East Monitor  /  March 8, 2023

Twenty-five former police chiefs and commanders in Israel have told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the policies of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will lead to a third intifada, Channel 12 reported yesterday.

The former senior officers said that they are concerned by Ben Gvir’s demand to continue with the demolition of Palestinian homes in occupied Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan. In previous years, the Israeli occupation authorities usually minimized their violence and aggression against the Palestinians during the fasting month in order to keep the situation in the occupied territories relatively calm.

Ben-Gvir’s planned demolitions would likely push Palestinian home owners to clash with the Israeli occupation forces when they try to demolish their homes.

Channel 12 did not name the former police officers, but said that they plan to join the weekly protests against Netanyahu’s proposed judicial overhaul on the pretext of “saving the police from Ben-Gvir.”