The police have called to reduce the Prosecution's authority in matters related to approving investigations concerning incitement to terrorism.
In a document written ahead of a discussion regarding the State Prosecutor's directive that there is a requirement to obtain the Prosecution's approval before launching an investigation under suspicion of incitement offenses, the police recommended dramatically reducing the Prosecution's authority limiting investigations related to the Counterterrorism Law and a redistribution of related authority.
The police's position is that, "Approval to open an investigation in cases where there is suspicion of an offense of identification with a terrorist organization will be given by the Investigations Division and State Prosecution approval will not be required unless the circumstances of the event indicate a special sensitivity or complexity requiring further consideration by the State Prosecution."
Israel Police's Prosecutions Division is asking "to differentiate between the offense of identifying with a terrorist organization and incitement to terrorism."
The reason for this is that "the offense of incitement, in general, is more complex and significantly borders more on restraining freedom of expression and therefore requires further consideration."
The document was compiled after more than a year of work by an inter-ministerial team led by Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, which monitored terrorism offenses.
During this period, according to Minister Ben-Gvir, the Prosecution did not approve the opening of investigations as required and created difficulties. It was conveyed that the position of the police's Prosecutions Division is similar to that of Minister Ben-Gvir.