Jerusalem District Court Judge David Gideoni today (Wednesday) set an exceptional condition for National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, under which he must approve the promotion of Chief of Staff Rinat Saban to the rank of Major General - by this coming Monday.
In addition, the court ruled that the minister must pay expenses of 2,500 shekels.
In his decision, the judge determined that if the minister does not sign the appointment on time, the promotion will automatically take effect by virtue of a judicial decision.
The judge wrote: "Despite what the minister said in his response that he does not intend to promote the petitioner, I have decided to set a date to allow the minister to act lawfully and comply with the ruling. To the extent that the minister does not comply with the ruling by the aforementioned date, the petitioner's promotion to the rank of Sergeant Major will be finalized by virtue of the judicial decision.".
Last month, the court ruled that the minister must approve the promotion, but so far the decision has not been implemented.
The judge made it clear that he would not allow further foot-dragging in the implementation of the verdict.
Minister Ben Gvir attacked the court's decision, calling it "a disgrace.".
""I refused to sign Rinat Saban's promotion, and the judge decided to sign in my place," he said. "This is a precedent-setting decision to promote the investigator in the Netanyahu cases. This is a criminal who is not worthy of being an officer in the Israel Police. The ruling is a disgrace.".
Last night, Attorney Gali Baharav of Yara asked the court to recognize the rank of deputy commissioner for Saban by virtue of a judicial order - and claimed that the minister is violating the ruling in the Saban matter. "This is a serious violation of the ruling while improperly avoiding compliance with judicial orders that cannot be reconciled with," she wrote.
Her response also stated that "procrastinating" greatly increases the chilling effect on police investigation officers, who see that even after they have been granted reasoned judicial relief, the minister does not uphold it.
Last week, Chief of Staff Rinat Saban filed a contempt of court motion against Minister Ben Gvir.
The minister's opposition to her promotion stems, he said, from her professional performance while she was an investigator in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's files.
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