Meet the new Police Commissioner

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has announced that Avshalom Peled will be the next Police Commissioner. He is currently the Deputy Commissioner. The appointment will need to be approved by a Knesset committee and the Cabinet.

Peled, 63, is married with three children. He served in the IDF Armored Corps, then in the Border Police as part of the YAMAM (Israel's national counterterrorism unit).

Police officials have criticized the appointment, claiming that Peled is too inexperienced for the sensitive position.

Peled has held several positions during his forty years of service, including commanding the Gideonim unit, which focuses on fighting organized crime and particularly complex arrests, station commander of Beit Shemesh, precinct commander of Hebron and the Negev, deputy commander of the Border Police, deputy precinct commander of Jerusalem, and the commander of the training department.

Since April 2023, he has served as the Deputy Commissioner of the Israel Police. He holds a bachelor's in history of the Middle East and Islamic studies from Ben-Gurion University, and a master's in judaic sciences from the Ono Academic College. On top of his degrees, he studied criminology in the University of Virginia.

Minister Ben-Gvir commented: “Deputy Commissioner Peled is the right man to lead the Israel Police. He is an experienced officer, professional and intelligent. He fought for the state and is a manager who will move the police forward. This is the opportunity to offer deepest thanks to Commissioner Kobi Shabbtai whom the state owes greatly for his forty years of serving and fighting for the people of Israel.”

Additionally, following consultations with the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner, and the commander of the Lahav 433 investigation department Moti Lavi, Minister Ben-Gvir has decided to appoint Assistant Commissioner Boaz Balat as the temporary commander of Lahav 433.

Balat is the commander of the unit for economic enforcement in Lahav 433. He began his service in the police thirty years ago, and has served among other things as a shift manager in multiple precincts, the commander of the regional unit in the central district, the international crime unit, and the economic enforcement unit of Lahav 433.