Ben Gvir: AG Baharav-Miara squeezing police chief Levy

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir launched an unprecedented attack this morning (Sunday) on Police Commissioner Danny Levy, accusing him of operating under threats and pressure from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in an interview on Radio 103FM.

"He stopped my policy after a year and a half," Ben Gvir said. "Do a Google search - it's not that complicated to understand why the commissioner changed 180 degrees. He was a commissioner who carried out the government's policy and I was satisfied with him. She's pressing him, she screams at him in meetings. He gets yelled at by her, and she's pressing him on several points."

Ben Gvir also brought up the name of former police spokesman Aryeh Doron and tied him to the matter. "Check what his part in the story is. Google 'the commissioner's building violations,' and see who the building inspectors were for his house. The attorney general terrorizes people," he said. The claims refer to the period when Doron served as a building inspector.

He went on to criticize the commissioner's conduct: "If the commissioner had consulted me about these things, I would have told him: 'Woe to you for committing building violations, and woe to you for taking building inspectors you're not allowed to take.' I don't let a grocery store give me a one-shekel discount, and when people bring me gifts I say I can't accept them. If you're a public figure — protect yourself, because people are watching you with seventy eyes."

The harsh statements come after long weeks of clashes and an extended disconnect between the minister and the commissioner. Contact between Ben Gvir and Commissioner Levy resumed only at the end of September, when partial agreements were reached on budgets and appointments.

Since then, however, relations have deteriorated again. Ben Gvir has leveled a series of serious accusations against Danny Levy, including the charge that he is "pandering to the left on the backs of chareidi protesters."

Police spokesman's office responded sharply last week to Ben Gvir's claims. In a statement, the allegation that the commissioner ordered violence against chareidi protesters from improper motives was rejected outright. "The claim that Police Commissioner Danny Levy ordered violence against chareidi protesters from improper motives or in violation of the law and procedures is a baseless, unfounded and outrageous claim," the statement read.

The National Security Minister's office responded: "The minister stands behind everything he said. Commissioner Danny Levy ordered police forces to use severe and increased violence against chareidi protesters, and was even quoted saying: 'I want to see blood.' The commissioner approached officers and district commanders directly in the field and ordered them to use force against protesters."