The Ministry of National Security (, ), formerly the Ministry of Internal Security and Ministry of Police, is a government agency of Israel.
The Ministry of National Security is the statewide law enforcement agency and oversees the Israel Police, the Israel Prison Service and the Israel National Fire and Rescue Services, Israel Border Police, National Headquarters for the Protection of Children on the Internet, National Authority for Community Safety and the Authority for Witness Protection.
The position has been held by Itamar Ben-Gvir since March 2025.
History The Minister of National Security (, Sar LeVitahon Leumi) is the political head of the ministry.
Until 1995 the position was known as Minister of Police (, Sar HaMishtara). The first Minister of Police, Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit, a former policeman, held this position from May 1948 until a month before his death in January 1967. He served in fourteen governments, making him the country's longest continually serving minister.
The post was abolished after Menachem Begin became Prime Minister in 1977, but was reinstated in 1984 when Shimon Peres was elected.
In December 2022, the position was renamed again, changing from Minister of Public Security (, Sar LeVitahon Pnim) to Minister of National Security. This move has been criticized as an unnecessary expense for taxpayers.
In February 2024, Ben-Gvir's appointment as minister was challenged but Israel's High Court of Justice turned down the petition to nullify this appointment.
#MinisterPartyGovernmentTerm startTerm endNotesMinister of Police1MapaiAlignmentP, 1, 2, 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9,14 May 19482 January 19672Eliyahu SassonAlignmentLabor PartyAlignment13, 142 January 19673Shlomo HillelAlignment15, 16, 1715 December 196920 June 19774Haim Bar-LevAlignment21, 22, 2315 March 19905Roni MiloLikud2411 June 199013 July 19926Moshe ShahalLabor Party2513 July 199222 November 1995Minister of Internal Security–Moshe ShahalLabor Party2622 November 199518 June 19967Avigdor KahalaniThird Way2718 June 19966 July 19998Shlomo Ben-AmiOne Israel286 July 19997 March 20019Uzi LandauLikud297 March 200128 February 200310Tzachi HanegbiLikud3028 February 20036 September 200411Gideon EzraLikudKadima306 September 20044 May 2006Initially appointed Acting Minister, with position made permanent on 29 November 200412Avi DichterKadima314 May 20061 April 200913Yitzhak AharonovichYisrael Beiteinu32, 331 April 200914 May 201514Yariv LevinLikud3414 May 2015 25 May 201514Gilad ErdanLikud3425 May 2015 17 May 202015Amir OhanaLikud3517 May 2020 13 June 2021 16Omer Bar-LevLabor Party3613 June 202129 December 2022Minister of National Security17Itamar Ben-GvirOtzma Yehudit3729 December 202221 January 2025–Haim KatzLikud3723 January 202519 March 2025Acting minister–Itamar Ben-GvirOtzma Yehudit3719 March 2025
Deputy ministers #MinisterPartyGovernmentTerm startTerm end1Gideon EzraLikud297 March 200128 February 20032Yaakov EdriLikudKadima3010 March 200318 January 20063Gadi YevarkanLikud3517 May 202013 June 20214Yoav SegalovitzYesh Atid3613 June 202129 December 2022
Agencies Israel Police Border Guard Civil Guard Firearm Licensing Department Israel Anti-Drug & Alcohol Authority (now the National Authority for Community Safety) Israel Witness Protection Authority Urban enforcement system National Headquarters for the Protection of Children on the Internet National Guard of Israel Israel Fire and Rescue Services (transferred from Ministry of Interior in 2011) Israel Prison Service Police & Prison Service Personnel Ombudsman
Unit for Public Inquiries and Complaints The Unit for Public Inquiries and Complaints operates under the aegis of the Internal Audit Division of the Ministry of Internal Security. It handles complaints from citizens against the Israel Police, Prison Service, National Fire and Rescue Authority, Authority for the War on Drugs and Alcohol and Division for Licensing and Inspection of Firearms. In accordance with the Internal Audit Law, the main duties of the division are to ensure that audited entities abide by the law and carry out their duties in an efficient, financially sound, corruption-free manner.
References
External links Official website Official website Official website Official website All Ministers in the Ministry of Police (Internal Security) Knesset website