Ben-Ari, a member of Commanders for Israel’s Security, a group of more than 400 former top security service officials who are committed to advancing a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, kicks against planned government moves in West Bank.
In an interview with The Times of Israel last week, a former legal adviser to the Israeli defense establishment issued a warning against legislation that the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to pass, claiming that it would compromise Israel’s security and expose it to potential international scrutiny.
The government’s plan to restructure military authority in the occupied West Bank as part of a new office within the Defense Ministry given to Smotrich, the finance minister, would not only violate the law as it stands, but it would also harm security, according to Ahaz Ben-Ari, who served as the legal adviser to the Defense Ministry from 2007 to 2017.
He stated that “The defense minister retains overall authority over the ministry units, including matters pertaining to the West Bank. He does not have a separate ministry; rather, he has a minister within the ministry”.
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Ben-Ari further stated, “But when you read the coalition agreements, you find that it is incompatible with the Basic Law because it gives the impression that Smotrich is given freedom of action and independence.” This is because the coalition agreements contradict the Basic Law.
According to Ari Smotrich was given “civil responsibility” over the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a hybrid civil-military unit. This means that he is in charge of giving Palestinians building permits in the occupied West Bank, while Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is apparently in charge of everything else related to the Defense Ministry unit.
However, Orit Strook a minister of settlement with extreme views calling for the destruction and demolition of hundreds of Palestinian homes; requested that Yoav Galant demolish these houses.
Ben-Ari went further to speak on the ill-treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by the Israeli regime and advised that such activities should stop to prevent security damage. “If civilian issues in the occupied West Bank are not managed by the defense minister, there is serious potential for security harm, and that needs to be stopped,” he said.
In the meantime, Ben-Ari stated that the far-right Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s in charge of National security plans to relax the military’s open-fire rules and pass legislation giving police and soldiers immunity from criminal prosecution for any actions they may take while on operational duty could expose Israel to international legal complications.
Ben-Ari says that there are two main issues with the immunity plans. The first is internal issues, in the sense that it may permit the Israeli force to engage more in illegal activities.
“The second issue is the international frontier, which is no less serious. It needs to be noted that the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and also ‘regular’ courts in Europe, can have indictments filed at them against soldiers, or politicians that are involved in what could be seen as war crimes;” he stated.
