Two flares that were fired toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea on Saturday night have lit up a political firestorm. Both the Left and Right are using the incident to blame the other for raising the level of incitement.
There was no damage to the home from the flares, which landed on the lawn, and the house was empty at the time, the Israel Police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said.
Three suspects were arrested, including an IDF senior officer in the reserves.
The incident reportedly took place during an anti-Netanyahu demonstration outside the prime minister’s home that was led by the Moked Caesarea group, which has been protesting on a regular basis against the prime minister since the Israel-Hamas War began.
התיעוד נחשף: פצצות התאורה בבית ראש הממשלה הערב - סמוך לעמדת המאבטח@bokeralmog pic.twitter.com/NCrbJ0nlsh
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The head of the Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court announced on Sunday that the identity of the suspects will remain confidential until the completion of a police investigation.
Reactions by Israeli political officials
Footage of the incident that was posted to social media by KAN appears to show two flares being launched into the sky and not specifically at the house, but the police are treating it as a deliberate attack.
Those responsible for firing the flares would be dealt with severely, Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar said Sunday.
The act had raised the specter of violence to “dangerous levels,” he said, adding that “the firing of flares at the prime minister’s home is the gravest kind of incident and is far from legitimate protest.”
President Isaac Herzog condemned the incident.
“The flames must not be allowed to escalate,” he said.
“I spoke with the head of the Shin Bet and expressed the urgent need to investigate and deal with those responsible for the incident as soon as possible,” he added.
The attack was condemned by opposition leader Yair Lapid, National Unity chairman Benny Gantz, and Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, who said it “signifies an escalation in the attempt to harm the democratic institutions of the State of Israel.”
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, all from the Likud, blamed the attack on the judicial system for not cracking down on the demonstrations and what they called inflammatory language that has been directed at the government since the beginning of the war and the continued captivity of 101 hostages.
“The writing was on the walls, on the roads, in inflammatory posts, and in demonstrations,” Ohana wrote. “The shooting at the prime minister’s home [Saturday night] is a direct result of a policy that for the past few years has ignored the escalation in words and deeds,”
Levin said the attack was a “link in a chain of violent and anarchic actions, the purpose of which is to bring about the assassination of the prime minister and the overthrow of the elected government by means of a violent coup.”
The attack demonstrated the need for judicial reform.
“The time has come for all the members of the coalition, all the factions, and all the MKs to announce, as one man, their unequivocal support for the moves that I led and which were stopped, and for any other move necessary to change the situation,” Levin said. “The time has come for full support to be given to restore the justice system and law-enforcement systems, and to put an end to anarchy, rampages, refusal, and attempts to harm the prime minister.”
Karhi said Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara – who has been at odds with the government over the issue of judicial reform and is seen by the government as going easy on the anti-government protesters – should be fired.
“The attorney-general must go home today. A person who gets up to kill you – including through weakness and agreement through silence – [you should] rise up and fire him,” he said, paraphrasing a teaching from the Talmud about self-defense.
In response, Lapid said Karhi was “openly inciting murder against the attorney-general” and should be fired.
Baharav-Miara’s office has said protests against the government for not cutting a deal for the hostages or for Netanyahu failing to resign over the October 7 massacre are legitimate.
Furthermore, Israel’s quasi-constitution through the Basic Laws enshrines the right to protest, and the government would need to change those laws if it wanted to limit protests more significantly.
Baharav-Miara has prosecuted several extremist individuals who have threatened Netanyahu and is expected to prosecute the suspects involved in this incident.
Finally, government critics have said the police, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have regularly beaten even peaceful protesters in recent months to try to discourage criticism of the government.