Following international recognition of Palestine, the extremist Ben-Gvir calls for annexing the West Bank and crushing the Palestinian Authority.

According to the newspaper “Maariv,” an internal correspondence between Commissioner Moshe Finchi, commander of the West Bank police district, former secretary of the Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the minister’s chief of staff, Hanmaiel Dorfman, was presented at the investigation center conducted last night by the Police Investigations Department (Machash). Dorfman was questioned about the content and circumstances of the conversation.

Dorfman, on the advice of his lawyer Ariel Attari, refused to cooperate with Machash investigators after a court issued an arrest warrant against him shortly after a summons for investigation was sent, which led to his arrest order.

The conversation concerns an event that took place in August 2024. At that time, Commissioner Finchi served as secretary to the Minister of National Security.

The conversation occurred on a Friday in August when a report was received about an attack involving stones thrown at a Jewish family traveling on a road in the Huwara area. The message found on the phones of Commissioner Finchi and Dorfman included an update on the incident and mentioned that a settler got out of his vehicle, drew his personal weapon, and fired at suspects. In response, Dorfman wrote to Finchi: “Watch his weapon.”

Machash linked this incident to suspicions against Brigadier General Avishai Moalem, former commander of the West Bank district, and Dorfman, regarding their conduct of not arresting Jewish settlers or confiscating weapons even if used during the incident.

Lawyer Ariel Attari, representing Hanmaiel Dorfman, expressed confusion over the fuss, stating: “At that time, Commissioner Finchi was the minister’s secretary for national security, and it was routine to inform the minister of every incident.”

He added: “At the same time, directives were amended based on Minister Ben-Gvir’s decision, which stated not to rush to confiscate weapons in cases involving self-defense. Due to the security risks of leaving citizens without means of defense, a clear directive was issued and had to be followed. Dorfman did not issue any orders to police officers or act to issue an order but requested attention to the weapon to ensure the incident was handled according to the new directive.”

Officials from Machash noted they cannot comment on the results obtained after hacking Dorfman’s mobile device but confirmed that based on those results, he was summoned for investigation last weekend, as was the case with General Commissioner Kobi Yaacobi, Commissioner of the Prison Service, who had to face confrontations regarding the new and additional findings in the investigation.