In an unprecedented ruling, the Jerusalem District Court ordered National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday to immediately stop blocking the promotion of Police Superintendent Rinat Saban to the rank of deputy commander.

In an unusual move for a civil servant, Saban filed a petition to the court against Ben-Gvir through the controversial and left-wing Movement for Quality Government organization. She was also supported by Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara.

The chain of events began when Ben-Gvir approved a recommendation to promote Saban, who served as a central investigator in Case 4000 against Prime Minister Netanyahu, to the position of assistant head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division, subject to her completing a command course. While completing the course, she was summoned to testify against Netanyahu in Case 4000.

During her testimony, Saban repeatedly stated that she did “not recall” important details, despite her senior role in the investigation. It was also revealed during the hearing that she ordered searches of suspects’ phones without proper warrants.

Following her testimony, Ben-Gvir reversed his decision on her promotion, raising issues relating to her testimony against Netanyahu and her handling of the case involving the prime minister’s advisers Yonatan Urich and Ofer Golan.

During the hearing, Ben Gvir detailed the professional reasons for his refusal to approve Sivan’s promotion, pointing first to the Supreme Court’s criticism—by a nine-justice panel—of Sivan’s conduct in the phone affair, as well as to her low evaluation score on a police assessment. “Why doesn’t she mention that I signed off on a rank for her husband, if she claims I am personally persecuting her?” the minister asked, in response to allegations of a personal vendetta.

In his ruling, Judge David Gidoni sharply criticized the minister’s conduct and held that his refusal to make a decision amounted to extreme unreasonableness. The court further stated that the sequence of events “raises a real concern that ‘improper considerations’ were involved” in light of the link between the delay in the promotion and Saban’s testimony.

Channel 14 journalist Yinon Magal responded to the court’s decision by wryly asking, “Why don’t the judges promote her to the rank of major general and give her the ranks themselves in an official ceremony at the courthouse?”

In response, Ben-Gvir stated, “Once again it has been proven that there are no judges in Jerusalem. The claim of the Jerusalem District Court that a minister is forbidden from considering Saban’s involvement in illegal investigations of the Prime Minister’s Office is itself an ‘improper consideration’ and shows that the entire ruling is based on improper considerations.”

Ben-Gvir added: “In a properly run country, an investigator who was involved in an illegal investigation would end her service in the police and not receive protection from Yitzhak Amit and his envoys. Judicial reform now!”

Likud MK Chanoch Milwidsky also slammed the ruling and called on the minister to defy it. “Mr. Minister, I very much hope that you will not cooperate with this illegal decision and will simply say no!!” Milwidsky wrote.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)