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Israel advances plan for 2,000-member national guard demanded by far-right minister
(JTA) — The Israeli government approved the creation of a new, 2,000-member national guard demanded by Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right minister of national security, in a cabinet vote on Sunday.
The new force won’t begin operating immediately while a government committee spends 90 days evaluating its details — meaning that its future, including whether Ben-Gvir will control it directly as he desires, is not assured. Still, it is getting a budget of roughly $278 million, necessitating a budget cut of 1.5% across all government ministries.
The plan for the new force is eliciting concerns from moderate government ministers and security officials who say Israel does not need a competing force alongside the country’s existing Israeli security services — including the Israel Defense Forces, police and Shin Bet intelligence service. One former chief of the Israel Police, Moshe Karadi, warned that Ben-Gvir, who has a track record of provocations, particularly against Palestinians, could use it to “launch a coup.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to establish the national guard last week in order to secure Ben-Gvir’s support for a temporary suspension of the government’s proposed judicial overhaul.
Ben-Gvir issued a statement calling the establishment of the national guard “good news for the residents of the state of Israel.” He added that the force will “act to restore personal security and governance in all parts of Israel.” According to a report in the Times of Israel, the new force will focus on “nationalist crime” and terrorism, particularly in areas where police are stretched thin.
The new force has been criticized as unnecessary, divisive and dangerous by current and former Israel Police commissioners. The current police commissioner, Kobi Shabtai, sent a letter to Netanyahu saying that establishing a national guard could lead Israel to pay a “heavy price, including hurting the personal security of civilians.”
“The purpose of the initiative that has been laid before us is completely unclear,” read Shabtai’s letter, according to Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon. “This is a waste of resources, a doubling of staffs, and a gamble whose advantage is unproven. The proposal is likely to cause significant damage to the operational ability of the country’s internal security apparatus, and will hurt the unity of command.”
Netanyahu’s promise to Ben-Gvir influenced this week’s protests against the government’s planned judicial overhaul, which continued despite the overhaul legislation’s pause. In Tel Aviv, protesters dressed as a paramilitary brigade goose-stepped in the streets in a demonstration designed to paint Ben-Gvir’s planned national guard as fascist.
מיצג מחאה נגד הקמת משמר לאומי תחת השר בן גביר ברחוב קפלן בתל אביב@sapirlipkin pic.twitter.com/i8rkuQJwWq
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) April 1, 2023
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The post Israel advances plan for 2,000-member national guard demanded by far-right minister appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Exclusive: Israeli Officials Harshly Critical of Steve Witkoff’s Influence on US Policy on Gaza, Iran, i24NEWS Told
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Amid growing disagreements with the Trump administration over the composition of the Board of Peace for Gaza and the question of a strike on Iran, officials in Israel point to a key figure behind decisions seen as running counter to Israeli interests: Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The officials mention sustained dissatisfaction with Witkoff. Sources close to the PM Netanyahu told i24NEWS on Saturday evening: “For several months now, the feeling has been that envoy Steve Witkoff has strong ties, for his own reasons, across the Middle East, and that at times the Israeli interest does not truly prevail in his decision-making.”
This criticism relates both to the proposed inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in Gaza’s governing bodies and to the Iranian threat. A senior Israeli official put it bluntly: “If it turns out that he is among those blocking a strike on Iran, that is far more than a coincidence.”
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EU Warns of Downward Spiral After Trump Threatens Tariffs Over Greenland
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 17, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Yves Herman
European Union leaders on Saturday warned of a “dangerous downward spiral” over US President Donald Trump‘s vow to implement increasing tariffs on European allies until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.
“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa said in posts on X.
The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said tariffs would hurt prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic, while distracting the EU from its “core task” of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“China and Russia must be having a field day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions among allies,” Kallas said on X.
“Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity. If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO.”
Ambassadors from the European Union’s 27 countries will convene on Sunday for an emergency meeting to discuss their response to the tariff threat.
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Israel Says US Gaza Executive Board Composition Against Its Policy
FILE PHOTO: Displaced Palestinians shelter at a tent camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 14, 2026. REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer/File Photo
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday that this week’s Trump administration announcement on the composition of a Gaza executive board was not coordinated with Israel and ran counter to government policy.
It said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar would raise the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The statement did not specify what part of the board’s composition contradicted Israeli policy. An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment.
The board, unveiled by the White House on Friday, includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Israel has repeatedly opposed any Turkish role in Gaza.
Other members of the executive board include Sigrid Kaag, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process; an Israeli‑Cypriot billionaire; and a minister from the United Arab Emirates, which established relations with Israel in 2020.
Washington this week also announced the start of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan, announced in September, to end the war in Gaza. This includes creating a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in the enclave.
The first members of the so-called Board of Peace – to be chaired by Trump and tasked with supervising Gaza’s temporary governance – were also named. Members include Rubio, billionaire developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.