Ben-Gvir demands Defense Ministry in next government

Ben-Gvir also proposed changing rules of engagement and providing greater backing for soldiers, increasing military salaries and granting free land to combat troops.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Otzma Yehudit Chairman and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Tuesday that his party would seek control of two senior ministries in Israel’s next government, demanding the Defense Ministry for himself and the Justice Ministry for MK Tally Gotliv.

Speaking at a Jerusalem news conference a month before the election, Ben Gvir outlined his plans for the Defense Ministry while Gotliv presented proposals for the Justice Ministry.

“In the coming term, I intend to demand the position of defense minister,” Ben-Gvir said, arguing that the military needs leadership from outside its traditional command structure.

“The reason I am proposing my candidacy is because it is time to change the concept, to appoint someone from outside who did not come from the chief of staff’s greenhouse, who was not captive to the long-standing concepts of the past,” he said.

Ben-Gvir’s defense platform includes encouraging voluntary migration from Gaza and the West Bank, disarming the Palestinian Authority and arresting senior supporters of terrorism.

He also proposed changing rules of engagement and providing greater backing for soldiers, increasing military salaries and granting free land to combat troops.

Other proposals include changing the military’s ethical code and opening elite units, including Unit 8200, to the broader population.

Ben-Gvir said his demands would depend on Otzma Yehudit’s election results and acknowledged that he would not seek everything on his list if the party did not win enough seats.

He named MK Yitzhak Wasserlauf as the party’s choice to succeed him as national security minister, saying Wasserlauf should “continue what I did.”

Gotliv’s Justice Ministry program calls for the immediate dismissal of the attorney general as the first step after the next government is formed.

Her proposals would also require Supreme Court candidates to undergo a hearing before the Knesset Constitution Committee and secure a two-thirds majority for approval.

She also wants to restrict which issues can be reviewed by the High Court of Justice and restore standing requirements for petitions.

Gotliv additionally proposed tougher punishment for criminal organizations and terrorists and abolishing the screening course for judicial candidates.