Police arrest man who threatened to assassinate Netanyahu

Israeli police announced on Thursday that they had arrested a man who had threatened to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shortly before the start of the Jewish New Year celebrations, a man in his 40s arrived at the police station in the southern city of Kiryat Gat and declared that he wanted to kill Netanyahu.

“The suspect told police officers that he planned to buy a firearm and shoot the prime minister three times,” police said. The man was arrested and the prosecution will file charges against him on Thursday. Police will seek to keep him in custody until the end of the proceedings.

Netanyahu is facing a decline in public support due to the nearly two-year war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas. There are still 48 hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are apparently still alive. Their families are repeatedly calling on the Israeli government to reach an agreement and bring them home.

(reuters, lud)