Bennett’s security doubled as he faces threats, attack plots before election

Security for former prime minister and B’Yachad party chairman Naftali Bennett has been doubled in recent days following threats and attempted attacks against him, bringing his protection to a level equivalent to that of a defense minister, according to Hebrew media reports on Wednesday that were later confirmed by the party.

The decision to ramp up Bennett’s security comes as Bennett has been touring Likud strongholds across the country in a bid to persuade supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to switch their allegiance ahead of next week’s election.

Last month, two glass salt shakers were hurled at Bennett during a campaign stop in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, striking two members of his staff, one of whom required medical treatment.

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Promoted: JPPI, Rabbi Sharon Brous

Police have since filed an indictment against 26-year-old Bnei Brak resident Eliya Azard, charging him with simple assault and conduct that could disrupt public order.

The Shin Bet has also thwarted several plots by foreign operatives to harm Bennett over the past year, reportedly linked to his actions against Iran during his tenure as premier.

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The heated rhetoric from politicians and members of the public ahead of the October 27 election has led to fears of political violence, with President Isaac Herzog repeatedly warning that “elections are not a civil war” in an unsuccessful bid to lower the temperature.

On Wednesday, the Yisrael Beytenu party said its chairman Avigdor Liberman had received a series of death threats, prompting it to submit another complaint to the Knesset sergeant-at-arms, who is responsible for the security of lawmakers.

According to the party, the threats include messages telling the opposition leader, “Only when you get a bullet in your head will you shut your mouth, you Nazi bastard who hates Judaism,” and “To the gallows today.”

Other messages read, “Your life is coming to an end, you thieving son of a bitch,” and “D-I-E, you bulldog. May the womb that bore you burn, you descendant of Amalek,” invoking the biblical enemy of the Israelites.

“We must not wait for words to turn into actions,” Yisrael Beytenu said in a statement, demanding “immediate and decisive action” against those responsible.

“No threat will silence Liberman or intimidate us. We will continue to speak the truth and work for Israel’s security and universal conscription,” the party added.

Yisrael Beytenu filed a police complaint last month after Liberman received a message threatening his execution.

The threats against Liberman followed another recent incident in which a  campaign billboard for the left-wing Democrats party was vandalized with threatening graffiti targeting party chairman Yair Golan.

The words, “Wanted dead or alive,” were scrawled across Golan’s face, alongside graffiti accusing him of being “a vile murderer of Jews,” and the letters “KKK,” referring to the American white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan.

The Democrats filed a petition at the High Court of Justice last month, asking for an interim order requiring the Shin Bet and the government to provide state security for Golan, citing what it described as dozens of threats against him.

The High Court later asked Golan to withdraw his petition, saying it “cannot intervene in professional security matters handled by the Shin Bet.”

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