High-profile case8/19/2026

Police Officer Petitions Against Ben-Gvir’s Refusal to Approve His Appointment

Superintendent Yitzhak (Itzik) Alfasi filed an administrative petition against National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. The officer claims that the minister refused, without explanation, to sign off on his appointment as spokesperson for the Investigations and Intelligence Division and the Lahav 433 unit.

Key facts

•Petitioner: Yitzhak (Itzik) Alfasi
•Respondent: Itamar Ben-Gvir
•Court: Jerusalem District Court
•Type of proceeding: Administrative petition
•Case number: Not specified in the source
•Court decision: Not specified in the source

Nature of the Dispute

Alfasi petitioned the Jerusalem District Court through attorneys Dov Gilad Cohen and Amir Bartal. The Israel Police Senior Command Staff Forum and the relevant professional officials supported his appointment, but the minister did not approve it. According to the report, this is already the fourth administrative petition against Ben-Gvir concerning his refusal to sign off on an appointment.

The Officer’s Claims

The petition alleges that the decision was made without reasons being provided and without a proper administrative process. According to the petitioner, the discrepancy between the position of the professional officials and the minister’s decision, as well as the minister’s own conduct, raises a genuine concern that the refusal was based on extraneous considerations and undermined police independence.

Circumstances Preceding the Refusal

During a Command and Staff Course, Alfasi was asked to provide a professional response to a letter from the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division, Boaz Blatt, concerning another promotion that had not been signed. The petition emphasizes that the officer did not express a political opinion. Ben-Gvir subsequently told course participants that they were prohibited from expressing political views and that he was aware of the content of conversations held during the course; two weeks later, the appointments of all participants were signed, except those of Alfasi and Chief Inspector Reut Rosenberg.

What Is Known About the Proceedings

According to the source, inquiries by Alfasi and by the deputy attorneys general, who sought an explanation for the refusal, went unanswered. Reut Rosenberg had previously also filed a petition after the refusal to approve her appointment, which had been approved by the police commissioner and the Israel Police senior command. The source does not provide the court’s decision in Alfasi’s petition.

What this means for you

The dispute concerns a public officeholder’s duty to provide reasons for personnel decisions and to act within the framework of a proper administrative process. For employees of public bodies, the case indicates that an unexplained refusal to approve an appointment, particularly when it contradicts the position of professional officials, may be subject to judicial review. At this stage, the practical implications remain unclear because the outcome of the proceeding has not been published.

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Case analysis based on court rulings