Shin Bet investigates death threat left on Netanyahu's brother's grave

The Shin Bet is investigating the incident and efforts are being made to find the suspects behind the letter.

 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his wife Sara, family and friends attend a memorial ceremony for Netanyahu's brother, Yoni Netanyahu, at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, in Jerusalem, on June 16, 2021.  (photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his wife Sara, family and friends attend a memorial ceremony for Netanyahu's brother, Yoni Netanyahu, at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, in Jerusalem, on June 16, 2021.
(photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)

A letter containing threats against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was placed on the grave of his brother, Yoni, at Mt. Herzl on Friday morning, according to Israel Police.

The Shin Bet is investigating the incident and efforts are being made to find the suspects behind the letter.

A senior Shin Bet official stressed that "the Shin Bet does not intend to let a deliberate threat against a prime minister that was placed on the grave of an Israeli hero pass, and they will handle the incident with all the tools at their disposal."

The letter stressed that "it should be clear that this is a first-degree threat, red alert level."

"Bibi (a nickname for Netanyahu), you are no better than [Ariel] Sharon," continued the letter. "Sharon received a stroke and sank into an eight-year coma. To you I wish even worse things...I won't touch you at all Bibi...because a crony does not touch girls."

The letter than listed two "missions" for Netanyahu including: conquering Gaza and returning the body of Hadar Goldin - who the letter referred to as "my counselor" - as well as the other Israelis being held captive. The letter stressed that "the clock is counting down" and set a deadline of "a little more than three and a half months."

 THE THREE Netanyahu brothers (from L): Benjamin, Yoni and Iddo. (credit: Courtesy Netanyahu family)
THE THREE Netanyahu brothers (from L): Benjamin, Yoni and Iddo. (credit: Courtesy Netanyahu family)

In March, Eli Ben-Shem, chairman of Yad LaBanim, alleged that Yoni Netanyahu's grave was vandalized, although Israel Police said afterward that people had left red heart-shaped stones on the gravesite as part of a memorial project and that other graves throughout the country had been similarly adorned. The police said that the stones may have shed some of their red paint, but that any chipped paint was promptly cleaned.

Yoni Netanyahu fell during the Entebbe rescue operation in 1976, when the IDF freed over 248 hostages from Uganda's Entebbe airport after an Air France flight from Tel Aviv to Paris was hijacked by Palestinian and German terrorists.

Beit Shemesh resident arrested for threatening Netanyahu

Last week, a resident of Beit Shemesh was arrested after allegedly threatening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a WhatsApp group.

The suspect wrote "Then everyone will have a weapon and an opportunity to hit Bibi (a nickname for Netanyahu) with a bullet in the head," according to police. The suspect also allegedly told the group that a license isn't necessary to carry a weapon.