Controversy Surrounds Israel's New National Guard and Its Potential Impact.

Israel's cabinet has approved the creation of a national guard under the control of the national-security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician who has been convicted of inciting racial hatred and supporting Jewish terrorist organizations. The force will have an initial strength of 1,800 officers and will be allocated 1bn shekels ($278m) for its first year of operation. Its main role will be to help out the police during emergencies. The move has provoked opposition from both law-enforcement officials and civilian critics of Mr Netanyahu’s government, who fear that the national guard will act as a publicly funded militia led by an ultra-nationalist.