Israel: Ben-Gvir’s ‘National Guard’ – a legitimate force or political move?

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir control over a new “National Guard” – a body with vague responsibilities and a leadership appointment that has many on edge.

After months of nationwide protests over the Israeli government’s divisive judicial reform, Netanyahu announced that the legislation would be put temporarily on hold. But in order to make that happen without causing his own coalition to fracture, the Israeli premier promised to give Ben-Gvir his own security force to reportedly fight crime in exchange for the minister’s pledge to not quit the coalition… for now.

The creation of a National Guard was agreed to during coalition negotiations between the Likud and Jewish Power parties following the November 1 elections. The issue had seemingly moved to the backburner until earlier this week when Ben-Gvir circulated a letter to media outlets, signed by Netanyahu, vowing to form the new “National Guard” within the National Security Ministry during the next cabinet meeting on Sunday.

What will this ‘National Guard’ do?

It’s not fully clear what the newly announced body will do. Ben-Gvir says it will be used to combat crime with a focus on offenses emanating from within the Arab Israeli community, or “extortion in areas with criminal organizations and mixed cities,” as he put it.

He pointed to examples of situations that the Guard would handle, such as what happened during Operation “Guardian of the Walls” in May 2021, when extremist factions in the Arab-Israeli and Jewish sectors rioted against each other in mixed cities across Israel, against the backdrop of rockets firing by Gaza-based terror groups and Israeli military retaliatory airstrikes.

Sources close to Ben-Gvir have said he was planning a proposal for a security force with a budget worth about $280 million, comprising some 2,000 officers, equipped with weapons and dubbed “combat police.”

Ben-Gvir claimed that “the last government had tried to build this force, but did not succeed. They had passed an initial budget of $392 million for around 1,800 employees” – referring to a plan by former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennet to create a force composed of active-duty soldiers, reserve officers, and volunteers trained by the Border Police.

Israel’s existing National Guard is a flexible body that reinforces large-scale projects under the control of the police, such as crowd control measures at protests.

Who will be in charge?

On Tuesday, Ben-Gvir met with Israeli Police Chief Kobi Shabtai to discuss the plan, and the two agreed to establish a framework deal. Ben-Gvir sees the “National Guard” as being part of the police and under police control, or it could be a separate part of the National Security Ministry, similar to the Israel Prison Service.

The National Security Ministry is a government agency that oversees the Israeli police, prison service, fire and rescue services, and Border Police, which was created under the coalition agreement of the new Netanyahu government absorbing and expanding the powers of the former Public Security Ministry.

Until now, Ben-Gvir has appeared frustrated with his inability to influence police directives in a number of areas. For example, he had called for a crackdown on the anti-judicial reform protests and for police to be more aggressive in quelling the rallies. But the police didn’t seem to listen.

Anonymous police officials have also warned that the proposed “National Guard” could be used as a “private militia or mafia” led by Ben-Gvir. 

Critics have also voiced worries that this new body could discriminate against Arab Israelis. They’re especially concerned due to Ben-Gvir’s background – having been convicted on at least eight charges prior to his election, including incitement to racism, and his history of nationalistic rhetoric.

Will the body actually be created?

There’s a chance that the creation of the new “National Guard” could be legally challenged as unconstitutional before the High Court of Justice. If the force confirms critics’ fears and discriminates against specific groups, or works to further inflame tensions within Israeli society, it could face even greater legal scrutiny.

It is also possible that Netanyahu will only allow Ben-Gvir partial control over the Guard and give Shabtai an oversight role to keep things in line. Or, Netanyahu could be using the idea to buy time and keep Ben-Gvir loyal to his coalition while he tries to cut a deal to bring another political party into his government and secure his place as prime minister. In that case, the new “National Guard” may never come about at all.