Ben Gvir Demands Control of West Bank Administrative Detentions

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has responded to Defence Minister Israel Katz’s proposal to transfer civilian law enforcement operations in the West Bank to Israeli police, with a counter-demand of his own. Ben Gvir insists that authority over administrative detentions and restrictions should be transferred from the Defence Ministry and Israeli military to his office and the national police force.

Administrative detention—the practice of holding individuals without trial or formal charges—has long been a contentious issue in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Currently, such powers in the West Bank are exercised by the military, which operates under Defence Ministry oversight. Ben Gvir’s demand represents an attempt to consolidate security powers under his ministry’s direct control.

The exchange between the two ministers reflects ongoing tensions within Israel’s security establishment over the division of authority in the occupied West Bank. Katz’s original proposal sought to streamline civilian policing by bringing it under the national police’s remit, whilst Ben Gvir’s response suggests he wants broader powers over detention and administrative restrictions—going beyond standard law enforcement functions.

This disagreement highlights deeper questions about how Israel’s security apparatus should be organized in the West Bank, with significant implications for Palestinian civilians living under Israeli military rule.

Source: Walla News — Original article in Hebrew.