Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Israel this morning (Sunday) after a three-day visit to France.
Last Thursday, Netanyahu flew to Paris as part of his first public political visit and met with French President Emmanuel Macron for the first time since 2020 at the Elysee Palace in the city.
Among other things, the two discussed the Iranian nuclear issue and the Abraham Accords.
Just before departing for Israel, Netanyahu addressed the violent statements heard against him and members of his government, saying that "borders are crossed every day - we heard an explicit threat to assassinate a prime minister. I know there is a debate about what endangers democracy, but this is not something that is subject to debate - this is a real danger for democracy".
According to him, "I expect the law enforcement agencies to act against those who incite and threaten murder, and I also expect the leaders of the opposition to speak with the same firmness that I spoke against statements made against them."
Netanyahu's words come in response to a post published by Col. (ret.) Zeev Raz, a former fighter pilot and one of the pilots who participated in the bombing of the reactor in Iraq in 1981, in which he referred to the investigation opened against the lawyer David Hodak on suspicion of inciting violence.
Col. in response to Zev Raz (archive), photo: Dodi Vaaknin
Raz wrote that "I am amazed by the moderation of his wording".
According to him, "If a prime minister stands up and assumes dictatorial powers, this prime minister is a mortal, and so are his ministers and his followers. We too should have a persecuting law."
After that, the police opened an investigation following the post of Col. (resp.) Raz. The suspicion against him is incitement and threats, and the police said that the case will be investigated by the cyber unit in Lahab 433
Already yesterday evening, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar spoke with Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai due to the increase in violent and inciting discourse against elected officials in general and against Prime Minister Netanyahu in particular. According to the organization's announcement, in recent days an increase in the scope and severity of public statements calling for physical harm and violence against Netanyahu and other elected officials.
Head of the Shin Bet Ronan Bar, photo: Yossi Zeliger
According to the agreement between the two, a policy of zero tolerance will be adopted by the law enforcement system towards those who incite or call for harm to public figures, elected officials and demonstrators.
The organization emphasized that "the right to demonstrate and protest is a legal and important right in a democratic country, and alongside it it is correct to clarify that calls for harm and violence are outside the legitimate discourse."
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