National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday said he supported police in their handling of anti-government protests and that investigations into alleged police violence were "puzzling."
A push by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition to overhaul the judiciary and limit some High Court powers has caused deep divides in Israeli society while igniting months of massive street protests.
Protesters have circulated videos, some carried by local media, in which police officers apparently use heavy-handed tactics to disperse the crowds.
The Department of Internal Police Investigations has been examining the issue.
Ben-Gvir meets with Israel's Special Patrol Unit
On Wednesday, Ben-Gvir met with officers of the Israel Police's elite Special Patrol Unit and said the footage he saw from protests shows them using "reasonable force."
He told the officers not to be deterred by police investigators, whose conduct he described as "puzzling."
The remarks were swiftly rebuked by Israel's State Attorney's office, which oversees the internal affairs unit.
The office issued a statement to the media saying it rejects efforts to defame the investigators and that the law enforcement system would continue to act "in accordance with the law, without fear and without bias.