Ben Gvir scores victory over Attorney General regarding security squad event

Justice Noam Sohlberg, Chairman of the Central Elections Committee, has rejected a petition seeking to bar National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from attending and speaking at an appreciation event for police volunteers and civilian security squads. The ruling contradicts the position of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who had argued that the event constituted election campaigning. The Attorney General contended that the event was closely identified with Ben Gvir's initiative to establish over 1,000 civilian security squads. However, Justice Sohlberg accepted the argument presented by attorney Ze'ev Wolf, representing Ben Gvir, who claimed the Attorney General's guidelines were personalized and drafted specifically for this event. Following the court's decision, Ben Gvir is permitted to attend and address the gathering. Responding to the ruling, Ben Gvir stated: 'Gali Baharav-Miara tried to stop us when we established the civilian security squads and failed. Now she tried to prevent me from coming to thank them and failed again.'