Israel's top court bars Ben-Gvir from giving police orders during protests

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel's High Court of Justice on Wednesday issued an interim order preventing far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from giving orders to the police forces regarding their conduct during protests.

Ben-Gvir “must refrain from giving operational instructions and instructions to the police regarding the implementation of his policy regarding the exercise of the right to demonstration and freedom of protest,” the court ruled as cited by The Times of Israel media outlet.

Israeli human rights groups have filed a lawsuit with the court seeking to bar the far-right minister from giving orders to the police to prevent protests against a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

There was no comment yet from the Israeli minister on the court order.

Ben-Gvir holds far-right views on the Palestinians and has called for their displacement. He has repeatedly joined Israeli settlers in storming the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in East Jerusalem.

Israel has pounded the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 23,357 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 59,410 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas offensive.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and ⁠less than half of aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar