Israel's domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet has said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's eldest son, Yair Netanyahu, was urgently evacuated from the United States and returned to Israel after a threat to his life. This was reported by infohub.kz.
In a statement on Saturday, the Shin Bet said: "There was a significant threat to harm Yair Netanyahu, and in light of this and after an assessment, a decision was made to urgently evacuate him along with his security team and return him to Israel." The agency did not specify the source of the threat.
According to the American broadcaster Newsmax, Yair Netanyahu was the target of an alleged Iranian assassination plot last December while he was living in Florida. After learning of the plot, Israeli intelligence informed US authorities. This information was published after Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel's Channel 14: "Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons."
Yair Netanyahu was constantly accompanied by an Israeli security team. He was ordered to leave the area immediately. He left without taking his personal belongings and returned directly to Israel. Netanyahu's eldest son had lived in Florida for several years. His reportedly luxurious lifestyle and the state-funded security provided to him repeatedly drew public attention in Israel. According to The Times of Israel, his continued residency in the US after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel provoked criticism from many Israelis, who questioned the double standard of Netanyahu's son remaining overseas while hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists were called up.
The right-wing activist and podcaster is active on social media, frequently commenting on Israeli politics and attacking his father's political opponents, government critics and journalists.