National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Tuesday defended his refusal to approve the promotion of senior police investigator Rinat Saban, telling the Jerusalem District Court that he was exercising legitimate ministerial oversight and rejecting claims that the decision was driven by political considerations.
“I am not a rubber stamp,” Ben-Gvir told the court during a hearing on an administrative petition challenging his decision to withhold Saban’s promotion from superintendent to chief superintendent. “My role as minister is to ask questions, demand explanations, and only then make a decision.”
The hearing, held at the Jerusalem District Court sitting as an Administrative Affairs Court, focused on whether Ben-Gvir acted within his authority in delaying the promotion, or whether his conduct amounted to improper political interference in police appointment processes.
Addressing the petition’s central allegation, Ben-Gvir explicitly denied any connection between his decision and Saban’s involvement in investigations concerning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I repeat - I did not see pages from Netanyahu’s investigation,” Ben-Gvir said, rejecting claims that Saban’s testimony in Case 4000 played any role in the delay.
Ben-Gvir argued that the concerns he raised stemmed from procedural and professional issues unrelated to Netanyahu, including what he described as an unusually low evaluation score, the fact that Saban’s appointment was made without a tender, and what he characterized as irregularities in the materials presented to him.
“These are enough reasons to ask for explanations,” he said, adding that he routinely insists on further review before approving senior appointments.
Ben-Gvir also told the court that figures close to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara had attempted to pressure him into approving the promotion.
“One of the attorney-general’s closest advisers said that if she is not appointed, I will be fired,” he said. “They said it - and now they are trying to carry it out.”
State representatives rejected the accusation during the hearing, maintaining that the legal objections raised to Ben-Gvir’s conduct were grounded in established norms governing police promotions and ministerial authority.
Representatives for Saban and the Movement for Quality Government argued that Ben-Gvir’s conduct represents an unprecedented deviation from accepted practice, stressing that Saban completed all professional requirements and received formal recommendations from police command.
They told the court that no precedent exists - under previous ministers or the current one - for scrutinizing an officer’s testimony in a specific criminal investigation as part of promotion considerations, absent disciplinary findings or command-level criticism.
According to the petitioners, delaying or blocking promotions under such circumstances risks creating a chilling effect on police investigators handling sensitive corruption and public-integrity cases.
In an unusual move, both the Attorney-General’s Office and the Israel Police supported the petition, submitting filings backing Saban’s position and requesting an interim order freezing the situation pending a final ruling. Ordinarily, the Attorney-General’s Office represents the government or the minister in such proceedings.
“The independence of the Israel Police, and in particular of officers in the Investigations Division, is a foundational and indispensable element in preserving democracy and the rule of law,” the state’s filing reads, adding that police must enforce the law “without regard to the political preferences of the government or the minister overseeing the force.”
State attorneys further argued that Ben-Gvir’s initial approval of Saban’s appointment as assistant to the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division necessarily presupposed the granting of the accompanying rank upon completion of the required command course, and that his subsequent demand to reopen the promotion process falls outside his authority.
Who is senior police investigator Rinat Saban
Saban, a veteran officer in the Israel Police’s Investigations and Intelligence Division, was appointed in late 2024 to a position designated for the rank of chief superintendent. She completed the required command course on April 28, 2025, alongside other officers who were promoted without delay.
On the eve of the graduation ceremony, however, Saban was informed that she would be the only participant not to receive the rank after Ben-Gvir declined to sign the final approval.
The timing drew scrutiny, as Saban had testified in Netanyahu’s corruption trial while completing the course and had previously been involved in investigations concerning Netanyahu’s close aide, Yonatan Urich.
Jerusalem District Court Judge David Gideoni ordered the matter taken under advisement and is expected to issue a written decision at a later date. Until then, Saban’s promotion remains on hold, as the court weighs whether the minister’s conduct reflects lawful discretion or improper political intervention in the professional workings of the police.