Itamar Ben-Gvir is an Israeli lawyer and lawmaker who is the head of the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party.
Though born in Mevaseret Zion near Jerusalem, Ben-Gvir now resides as a settler in Hebron in the West Bank and has made several controversial trips to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. He has faced numerous charges of hate speech and was convicted of supporting the terrorist group Kach, the party founded by extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane. He remains an incredibly divisive figure in Israeli politics to this day.
Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli said "until today, many Israeli citizens lived under the illusion that they live in a democracy."
This comes as a senior Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) official in charge of the Jewish Division, identified as A., suspended himself on Sunday.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a response, stating that the recording represents a “real threat to democracy.”
Itamar Ben-Gvir has repeatedly ascended the Temple Mount, drawing lashback from Knesset members.
This comes after a July incident where military police arrested reservists on suspicion of sexually assaulting detained a Nukhba terrorist.
A source tells the Jerusalem Post that Information was gathered, but no formal probe was formed.
Ben-Gvir did not offer proof of his claims and appeared to have bunched together a number of issues with unclear relations between them.
The comment came in response to a Channel 12 report, which claimed the agency carried out in recent months a secret probe into the police on suspicion of undermining the state and democracy.
The Prime Minister's Office noted it had not been notified of the investigation. The office of the national security minister accused Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.
The real tragedy is that while attention is diverted—while focus is placed on invisible enemies and deep-state conspiracies—the core challenges remain unresolved.
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