Likud MK Tali Gottlieb on Monday sharply criticized the Jerusalem District Court following its decision ordering Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir to approve the promotion of police officer Rinat Saban.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, Gottlieb argued that the ruling was issued without authority and is rooted in what she described as an improper relationship between the officer and the Attorney General.
According to Gottlieb, the judge erred by attempting to impose an appointment on an elected minister. “The judge forgot who he is dealing with," she said. “He is dealing with a real governing minister - someone who came to serve as a minister, not to be anyone’s pawn."
Gottlieb said that Minister Ben Gvir made clear he did not approve the promotion after it became apparent that those who recommended Saban’s advancement were unaware of statements made about her in two High Court of Justice rulings, as well as her testimony in the Netanyahu trial. During that testimony, Saban reportedly stated on numerous occasions that she did not recall key details, despite holding a senior role in the investigation.
She further accused the court of deliberately provoking a constitutional confrontation with the minister. “When instructions are given to civil servants, we cannot order them not to comply," Gottlieb said. “But when instructions are given to a minister, the minister must say: this is where it stops. I do not approve it - what are you going to do to me?"
Addressing the possibility of legal action being taken against Ben Gvir, Gottlieb cited the Immunity Law. “The law establishes that Knesset members, including ministers, are exempt from criminal liability and enjoy immunity from legal proceedings," she said. “This includes orders issued under the Contempt of Court Ordinance. This is therefore a struggle over the dignity and authority of the Knesset."
“For that reason," she added, “I say to Minister Ben Gvir: I stand behind you as long as you insist that you will not approve an unfit appointment. This authority belongs to you - and only to you."
When asked directly about Superintendent Rinat Saban, Gottlieb made a series of severe allegations. “There is a system of reciprocal benefits resembling bribery," she claimed. “Saban is represented in the petition by the Movement for Quality Government, free of charge - an issue currently being discussed in the Knesset, for which no explanations have been provided."
She said that during the hearings it emerged that the police’s legal adviser, Elazar Kahana, approved the arrangement, despite what she described as a benefit worth a significant sum of money. “This is fundamentally improper," she asserted.
Gottlieb expanded on her claims, alleging a pattern of mutual benefit between Saban and the Attorney General. “Rinat Saban is part of the investigative team tasked with examining the affair involving the Attorney General and the Military Advocate General," she said. “She is number two on that team and is expected to summon the Attorney General for questioning."
According to Gottlieb, Saban also took part in briefings in which no criticism was directed at Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, despite the fact that she was not questioned and was not asked even a single substantive question.
“In return," Gottlieb alleged, “after Saban was appointed to the investigative team dealing with the Attorney General-Military Advocate General affair, a memorandum was submitted to the Jerusalem District Court and entered into the case file, stating that the Attorney General supports and strengthens Saban’s claims."
“This is the mutual benefit," she said. “One strengthens the other in her lawsuit against the police, and the other returns the favor."
Gottlieb argued that these claims should have been raised at the outset of the legal proceedings. “I said: whom are you defending, and against whom are you closing ranks?" she stated. “That, in my view, is the heart of the matter. There is a claim here of ‘you protect me and I will protect you,’ of ‘one hand washes the other,’ of the most severe and troubling kind."
Regarding Minister Ben Gvir’s remarks about the possibility of petitioning the High Court of Justice, Gottlieb said such a move is necessary, even though she expects him to encounter what she described as “judicial apartheid," in which, she claimed, one standard is applied to the Right and another to the Left.
In that arena, she added, if the allegations of improper relations between the Attorney General and Rinat Saban, as well as claims of foreign and malicious considerations, are not raised, the legal effort itself is unlikely to succeed.