Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on Friday ordered that the removal of Tel Aviv District Commander Ami Eshed from his position be frozen immediately.
On Thursday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announced that Eshed would be removed to his post and transferred to another post, based on a recommendation by Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai. The reasoning behind the reassignment of Eshed is believed to be his mild response to protests against the judicial reform.
The Attorney General, who conducted a preliminary inquiry into the procedure for the officer's removal from his position, and even spoke with Shabtai on Thursday night, said that "the main inquiry raised serious concerns regarding the legality and correctness of the procedure, including the considerations underlying the decision, the timing of the announcement and the background to it."
As such, the Attorney General instructed the relevant authorities to freeze any decision or action in Eshed’s case, until the orderly completion of the required legal investigation. It was stressed that "until the investigation is completed, Eshed will remain in his position."
Ben Gvir blasted Baharav-Miara over her announcement and said, "The amazing part in this entire story is that the Attorney General did not speak to me before making her announcement and did not seek to understand how and when the decision in the case of Amichai Eshed was made."
"For anyone who hasn’t figured it out until now, this is a left-wing, biased, non-objective Attorney General, who is acting on behalf of the previous government, with a clear political agenda, and the Attorney General’s announcement shows how important the judicial reform is. We will study the Attorney General’s decision and make decisions accordingly," the minister added.
Commissioner Shabtai commented on the dismissal of Eshed and said that "this is a round of appointments that the Israel Police has been preparing for quite some time. As I already clarified yesterday, the timing of the decision was determined by the Minister of National Security alone."
"I would like to stress, the Israel Police is always obligated to the law, and the instructions of the Attorney General bind us. Following her directive, I will freeze the appointment until the end of the investigation, and the district commander will continue fulfilling his duties accordingly,'' Shabtai noted.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)