The Israeli Cabinet, on April 2, 2023, authorized the establishment of a national guard proposed by the far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. In a statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office
announced that the new force “will deal with national emergencies”. It referred to the disturbances that arose during the Israeli military incursion into the Gaza Strip in May 2021. The statement explained that the responsibilities of – and control over – the National Guard will be discussed by a professional committee that will submit its recommendations to the Cabinet within 90 days.
Ben-Gvir, on March 29, announced plans to create a new national guard force under his direct command. He emphasized that he was confident that the proposal and the requested budget for the new force would be approved.
Based on pertinent evaluations, establishing the national guard force has resulted from a political agreement between Benjamin Netanyahu and Itamar Ben-Gvir. It has been reported that the proposal was one of the preconditions put forth by Ben-Gvir during the negotiations to join the current government. Additionally, his agreement last week to postpone the vote on the judicial legislation - even temporarily - came in exchange for Netanyahu’s expediting process of establishing the new force.
Ben-Gvir, in a statement on April 2, affirmed there is a broad consensus that the guard will work to restore personal security and governance in all parts of Israel. The new force, which will be a paramilitary militia acting alongside the police and the army, will be deployed nationwide. The new force will focus on "nationalist crime and terrorism, take part in enforcing public order using technological and intelligence designated means with an emphasis on the ability to operate in emergency events with high intensity."
The national guard will be based on regular forces and tactical and designated divisions and will act alongside reserve and volunteer forces. Its members will be granted the same powers as police officers. They will fall under the auspices of the National Security Ministry, where Minister Ben-Gvir will have indirect authority over the force.
Although the budget for setting up the guard and its routine operation is yet to be determined, reports say that the Israeli government might allocate one billion shekels, or $277 million, from all ministries, which means a budget cut of 1.5% across all government ministries, including the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.
Endorsement of Ben-Gvir's national guard proposal followed Netanyahu's decision to freeze a vote on the judicial overhaul. The prime minister endorsed the proposal in exchange for Ben-Gvir's support for postponing the judicial reforms. Ben-Gvir threatened to pull out of Netanyahu's ruling coalition and consequently cause the government to collapse if the reforms were frozen. Still, Netanyahu managed to dissuade him and offered him rapid approval for creating the national guard force, which would act under his ministry.
Internal Opposition
Following the announcement of Ben-Gvir's national guard proposal on March 29, thousands of citizens took to the streets to protest his plans, mainly because he is a primary opponent of the current nationwide protests. However, the most vigorous opposition came from government officials, led by the Israeli police commissioner, Kobi Shabtai, who, in statements on April 2, described the formation of the national guard as "an unnecessary move that will have a hefty price, to the point of harming citizens' personal security." He further asserted that the move would threaten the country's internal security. Israeli media reported that Shabtai was not allowed to attend the cabinet's discussions of the approval of the new force.
The head of the Shin Bet internal security service Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, voiced his opposition to establishing a national guard force. According to sources within the security establishment, he spoke in closed-door talks and said that two police forces could only work in a different location in the field. Additionally, Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara also told government officials that the proposal faces legal hurdles and that the police must and can deal with the challenges it faces without the need for a different entity. In the same context, Minister of Intelligence Gila Gamliel expressed reservations about the move, warning of the danger of competing with Israeli security agencies and the risk of infringing on the authority of the Israeli army. The same criticism was voiced by the Minister of Education, Yoav Gallant.
On the part of the opposition, former prime minister Yair Lapid, in a recorded video, expressed his rejection of the creation of the national guard force and slammed cabinet ministers for voting to finance what he described as "a private army of thugs." In a scathing remark, he criticized the government's priorities as "absurd and contemptible". He went on to state that the current administration is only concerned with undermining democracy and promoting the fanciful aspirations of individuals who are out of touch with reality.
In an interview with the Israeli news site Ynet, former Minister of Defence Benny Gantz also criticized Ben Gvir's national guard proposal. He said, "I very much hope that Israel will be saved from this problem called Itamar Ben Gvir." He added that the Minister needed to be made aware of the complexity, professional and years-long commitment required to create a national guard. Former police chief Moshe Karade said that Ben Gvir "could use his proposed national guard to the coup against the government." He added that the head of Shin Bet is in an unenviable position, hinting that Netanyahu himself might seek to use this new force to stay in power.
Major Challenges
The primary challenges related to the establishment of the national guard force led by Ben-Gvir are centred around the issue of "feasibility assessment." As noted by Israeli security experts, this refers to the potential risks associated with the proposed plan, which include:
1. The possibility of severing the national guard from police control and command:
While Israeli security experts agree on the importance of the national guard force for countering security challenges in diverse Israeli-Arab cities, which surfaced following the May 2021 operation Guardian of the Walls, their main point is can the new force be separated from the police force and become under the direct command of Ben-Gvir. The establishment of the new force does not come under operational justifications but rather as part of a political deal between Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir. Moreover, organizational separation could severely impair the police force's performance and undermine its capacity to carry out its responsibilities while simultaneously creating intricate regulatory and operational challenges.
2. Integrating the new force with previous similar proposals:
In June 2022, at the end of former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's term, the establishment of a national guard unit was announced, in the aftermath of Operation Guardian of the Walls, which witnessed intense and violent clashes between Israeli Arabs and Jews, especially in the mixed cities and on main roads in areas populated by the Bedouin in the Negev. The proposed force was established as part of the Israel Border Police, which operates under the Commissioner of Israel Police. The force was supposed to include 900 soldiers, professional border police officers, and 8000 reservists and volunteers. The plan was to add 1500 volunteers by 2023.
There have been no recent updates on the national guard force plan since its announcement in June 2022. However, a report from Israel Hayom on January 20, 2023, revealed that the whole plan had been postponed due to budget constraints, with the exception of a 300-member volunteer entity. The relationship between Ben-Gvir's proposed force and the previous plan, which was endorsed by security officials and experts in Tel Aviv, remains to be determined. It is also uncertain whether the new force will supersede the old force operating under the Police Commissioner.
3. Targeting Arabs inside Israel:
According to Ben-Gvir’s plan, the national guard force will operate in mixed cities against the Arab population. That is, it will be used to demolish houses built without a construction permit from the government, i.e. homes of Arab citizens who cannot get such permits in Jerusalem and the Negev. That is why opponents of the new proposed force are concerned that it will be used to target Arabs inside Israel. Inside security circles, the force is thought to commit violations of the rights of Arabs, which can potentially cause an escalation of tensions between Arabs and Israelis. The tension can spill over into the West Bank to worsen the already complicated security situation and threaten to cause an implosion of the situation feared by most Israelis.
The most popular conclusion in Israeli security circles is that the National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wants to establish the national guard force to get a special force that serves his political agenda, an objective viewed as a threat to democracy that has potential, unpredictable repercussions on Israel's internal security system.
