Jerusalem: Israel's defense minister has instructed the army to submit a plan to transfer law-enforcement powers over Israeli occupiers in the West Bank to the Israeli police, according to local media. The decision comes amid growing international outrage over the Israeli army's practice of protecting armed occupiers while the latter attack Palestinians.
According to Anadolu Agency, at a meeting with top military and defense officials, Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was agreed that the army would submit a comprehensive plan on the matter within two weeks. The plan would subsequently be coordinated with the Israeli police and military authorities in the field, the Times of Israel reported. Katz also mentioned his intention to advance the legalization of outpost farms in the West Bank, which, though technically illegal under Israeli law, were established with full government backing.
On Friday, Katz instructed the army to prepare a plan to transfer law-enforcement powers over West Bank settlers to the Israeli police, who operate under National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Katz's office indicated that a special police force would be created for the task and provided with the necessary powers and budget.
Ben-Gvir has welcomed Katz's call, describing the proposed transfer of powers as 'a significant step toward Israeli sovereignty' in the occupied West Bank in a post on the X social-media platform. He further demanded that responsibility for the Border Guard in the occupied West Bank be transferred from the army to the police, stating that the move was included in a coalition agreement but had not yet been implemented.
The coalition agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and Ben-Gvir's far-right Otzma Yehudit party includes the expansion of Ben-Gvir's powers over both the police and Border Police. Ben-Gvir has also called for more authority related to administrative detention, and for administrative restrictions to be transferred from the defense ministry and the army to the national security ministry and police.
The Border Guard, also known as the Israel Border Police, operates in the occupied West Bank. While it has traditionally been run by the Israeli army, Ben-Gvir demands that it be placed under the Israel Police, which falls under his ministry.
Last week, the UN warned that occupier violence in the West Bank had reached unprecedented levels, saying it had documented over 1,430 attacks on Palestinians and their property since the start of the year. Continued occupier attacks, alongside home demolitions and evictions, have displaced some 3,800 West Bank Palestinians, about half of them children, according to the UN.