The Israel Police have arrested a man in his 30s from the southern city of Beersheba who allegedly asked in a Twitter post if there were any plans to harm Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – noting he would be "happy" to participate in them.
On Monday, the suspect was summoned to the Cyber Crimes Unit, a department in the Lahav 443 Major Crimes Unit, for questioning. He was slated to be arraigned at the Ashkelon Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
In recent weeks, Netanyahu and his family have been the subject of numerous threats on social media. Last month, the prime minister filed several complaints with the police about content inciting the murder of himself and his wife.
One such complaint was filed against a Facebook user who wrote a post expressing a wish that Netanyahu's son Yair "would soon be orphaned of both his parents."
The Cyber Crimes Unit has also arrested a 21-year-old soldier from northern Israel who is suspected of posting threats to harm the prime minister. The police are investigating his posts. The soldier was remanded to police custody for three days by the Rishon Lezion Magistrates' Court.
Attorney Gal Wolf, the public defender assigned to the soldier's case, said that her client "has no criminal past" and that "he is cooperating with the investigators and stresses that he had no intention of hurting anyone."
According to Wolf, "We expect the police to finish their investigation soon and avoid a needless extension of [his] remand."
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
