A person suspected of placing a threat against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the grave of his brother, Yoni, was arrested on Saturday night, according to police and the Shin Bet.
The arrest was made as part of a joint investigation by the Cyber Unit of Lahav 433 and the Shin Bet. The suspect, a 26-year-old from southern Israel, was brought in for questioning at the offices of the Cyber Unit and, in accordance with the findings, the suspect will be brought to a hearing on the extension of his detention at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court.
On Friday, a letter containing threats against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was placed on the grave of his brother, Yoni, at Mt. Herzl.
A senior Shin Bet official stressed on Friday that “the Shin Bet does not intend to let a deliberate threat against a prime minister that was placed on the grave of an Israeli hero pass, and they will handle the incident with all the tools at their disposal.”
Letter writer demands that Netanyahu invade Gaza
The letter placed on the grave stressed that “it should be clear that this is a first-degree threat, red alert level.”
THE THREE Netanyahu brothers (from L): Benjamin, Yoni and Iddo. (credit: Courtesy Netanyahu family)“Bibi (a nickname for Netanyahu), you are no better than [Ariel] Sharon,” continued the letter. “Sharon received a stroke and sank into an eight-year coma. To you I wish even worse things…I won’t touch you at all Bibi…because a crony does not touch girls.”
The letter than listed two “missions” for Netanyahu including: conquering Gaza and returning the body of Hadar Goldin – who the letter referred to as “my counselor” – as well as the other Israelis being held captive. The letter stressed that “the clock is counting down” and set a deadline of “a little more than three and a half months.”
Yoni Netanyahu fell during the Entebbe rescue operation in 1976, when the IDF freed over 248 hostages from Uganda’s Entebbe airport after an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists.
Man who threatened Netanyahu was mentally ill – attorney
The suspect admitted to laying the death threat on Yoni Netanyahu’s grave on Sunday morning, Israeli media reported. He was mentally ill and had no intention of actually harming the Israeli leader, the suspect’s attorney claimed on Sunday morning.
The suspect’s attorney, Itamar Tzur, said that the police should stop and not harm the rights of the disabled. He said that the court had approved a psychiatric examination for him and only extended his detention for a few days.
Israel Police said that a hearing was held at the Rishon Lezion Peace Court on Sunday, and would be detained until Tuesday.