Three anarchists were arrested overnight Sunday on suspicion of firing two flare bombs at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea. The Prime Minister and his family were not present at the time, and there had not been a demonstration in the area for the hostages or against the government. Recently the protest against Netanyahu has been moved to Jerusalem.
♦️ תיעוד: פצצות התאורה בכניסה לבית רה”מ בקיסריה.
לא יודע מי קבע שזו פצצת תאורה?
מה שרואים עשן בצבע כתום, כמו במגרשי הכדורגל. pic.twitter.com/UZoM5zwOk2— Asslan Khalil (@KhalilAsslan) November 16, 2024
The police and the Shin Bet issued a statement saying three people were arrested on suspicion of involvement in throwing the flare bombs, and they will be interrogated jointly by the Shin Bet and the police Lahav 433 unit.
“This is a serious incident constitutes a dangerous escalation, and accordingly, the necessary investigative actions will be taken,” the two organizations said.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich quoted assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin who said: “Violence is eroding the foundation of Israeli democracy,” adding: “Law enforcement authorities and security systems must come to their senses and act before it is too late.”
President Isaac Herzog, coalition ministers, and opposition leaders condemned the incident. President Herzog responded: “This is an extremely serious and dangerous incident. I strongly condemn it. I have now spoken with the head of the Shin Bet and presented the urgent need to investigate and deal with those responsible for the incident as soon as possible.”
According to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, this was incitement: “Today it is a flare bomb – tomorrow it is live fire,” he said. “The incitement against Netanyahu and his family must stop. I expect that the Shin Bet and the police will quickly reach the suspects who committed the act.”
Justice Minister Yariv Levin blamed the Supreme Court: “I categorically reject the police and Shin Bet’s determination that this was a serious incident. This was not just another serious incident, it was another link in a chain of violent and anarchist actions, the purpose of which was to murder the Prime Minister and overthrow the elected government by means of a violent coup. This chain of actions has been taking place for about two years, under the auspices of selective enforcement by law enforcement authorities. This criminal conduct was of course also sanctioned by the High Court of Justice, which rejected the petition filed in this matter by my colleague, Minister Wasserlauf’.”
On May 30, the High Court of Justice rejected the petition filed by Minister of the Negev, Galilee, and National Resilience, Yitzhak Wasserlauf, in which he demanded the court’s intervention against the Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, in her “selective enforcement” of the law.
Minister Wasserlauf told the court he had not received a response from the AG to his inquiries about the lack of legal treatment of the road blockers who protested the judicial reform. In a reasoned petition, the Minister demanded that conditional orders be issued, directing Baharav-Miara to explain why it is not appropriate to file indictments and civil lawsuits against the road blockers and against the leaders and organizers of the highway blockades and other mass interruptions of the civil order.
Minister Wasserlauf stressed that “the AG is clearly engaging in selective law enforcement, and in her conduct is abandoning the public to violence and acts of crime. She is shirking her duties and abandoning the public in the face of the violence of systematic crime.”
Justice Isaac Amit noted in his response: “Not all demonstrations are of the same nature, and there is no ‘automatic’ equality between them.” He added: “I do not see any point in being dragged by the petitioners into comparing what is happening in our country today to the enforcement actions that were carried out over 30 years ago in connection with the protests and demonstrations against the Oslo Accords, or 19 years ago during the disengagement period.”
To remind you, some 6,000 protesters against the expulsion of Jews from Gaza were detained for weeks and months in 2005, and some of them were locked in isolation for long weeks.
Levin added Saturday night: “Since the establishment of this government, I have been fighting to change things fundamentally. To change the composition of the Supreme Court, reform the legal advisory system for the government, and put an end to selective enforcement. The time has come for all members of the coalition, all factions, and all members of the Knesset to announce unanimously their unequivocal support for the steps I led and have taken, and in favor of any other steps necessary to change the situation. The time has come for full support to be given to restore the legal system and law enforcement systems, and to put an end to anarchy, rampage, defiance, and attempts to harm the prime minister.”
