Ben Gvir in court again: Delayed appointment of senior officer in Lahav 433 - and provided no reasons
Lieutenant Colonel Itzik Alfasi filed a petition to the court after the Minister of National Security refrained from approving his appointment as spokesperson for the Investigations and Intelligence Division and Lahav 433, even though he was selected in the placement process and received the recommendation of the Police Commissioner and the senior command staff.
Another administrative petition has been filed against the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, this time following his decision not to approve the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Yitzhak (Itzik) Alfasi to the position of spokesperson for the Investigations and Intelligence Division and Lahav 433 in the police. The petition claims that the minister refrained from approving the appointment despite the decision of the senior command staff forum and the recommendation of professional police officials, and without providing a reasoned decision on the matter.
Alfasi, a veteran officer in the police spokesperson's array, was selected for the position as part of the police placement process. He previously served as spokesperson for the Investigations and Intelligence Division, and after completing a command and staff course, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Despite this, his appointment to the position was not approved by the minister. Already in June, his lawyers appealed to Ben Gvir and Police Commissioner Dani Levy with a demand to complete the appointment or provide a written and reasoned decision.
In the petition, it is claimed that the avoidance of approving the appointment was done without a proper administrative procedure and without presenting professional reasons justifying a deviation from the position of the authorized police officials. According to the petitioner, the accumulation of circumstances raises a real concern that extraneous considerations were at the base of Ben Gvir's decision.
In the background, there is also Alfasi's previous claim that the minister's decision may be related to things said during professional discussions in the command and staff course. According to a report in Kan News, during the course, Alfasi participated in a discussion that dealt with the conduct of the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division, Major General Boaz Blat, and the issue of delaying the promotion of an officer in the division. Later, it is claimed, Ben Gvir told the officers of the spokesperson's array that he knows about the things said in the course.
The Deputy Attorneys General also addressed Alfasi's case in July. In a letter they sent to Ben Gvir, they noted that the minister refused to sign his appointment despite the recommendations of the Police Commissioner and the senior command staff, and warned that delaying appointments in sensitive divisions could harm the independence of the law enforcement system.
In the petition, Alfasi asks the court to intervene in the minister's decision and order the completion of his appointment process. He argues that the gap between the recommendations of the professional officials and the minister's conduct, alongside the lack of reasoning for the decision, requires judicial review and raises concerns about harm to the independence of the police and the professional discretion of its commanders.
The petition was filed by lawyers Dov Gilad Cohen and Amir Bartal, and it joins other legal proceedings conducted by police officers against Minister Ben Gvir regarding the issue of appointments and promotions. Last April, Maariv reported on the case of Lieutenant Colonel Ruti Hauslich, whose promotion was delayed by the minister. The court then accepted the position of the Attorney General and recommended promoting her to the rank of Colonel, with the assessment published in Maariv being that Ben Gvir was expected to approve the promotion to avoid another judicial ruling against him.
