Current and former senior police officers are calling on Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai to resign in the face of National Security Minister-designate Itamar Ben-Gvir's new power over the police, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported Sunday morning.
According to the officials, which includes former commissioners and former superintendents, the recent attacks by Ben-Gvir against the commissioner regarding the appointments of officers to senior positions and the attempt to harm his status and independence through legislation, require him to resign from his position "in order to preserve his honor and the dignity of the police."
MK Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the call and said that he wants the Commissioner to remain in his position. "We will work in cooperation and we will have a good working relationship," he said.
Shabtai is facing a decisive moment regarding his future: whether to risk facing blame by an investigative committee for police failures during the 2021 Meron disaster in which 45 civilians were crushed to death that will force him to resign, or to resign on professional grounds when it becomes clear that his fight to preserve the independence of the police will fail.
Shabtai strongly opposes the bill to reform the management of the police and change the role of the commissioner from deciding policy to enforcing the policy of the minister in charge of the police, vowing to keep politics out of police affairs.
This week, Shabtai and Ben-Gvir are expected to hold their first working meeting, during which Shabtai will expand on his opposition to Ben-Gvir's reforms.