Israeli security forces recently thwarted a suicide attack targeting Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, arresting an eastern Jerusalem resident who was in touch with terror operatives in Yemen and Turkey, the Israel Police revealed on Monday.
“Over the past month, following intelligence received from the Israel Security Agency [Shin Bet], investigators from the Central Investigations Unit of the Israel Police Jerusalem District opened an investigation against a 20-year-old resident of eastern Jerusalem,” according to the police statement.
The suspect was said to have made contact with an individual in Yemen via social media. The two encouraged each other to carry out terror attacks and become martyrs, with the suspect allegedly writing, “I take every opportunity I have to confront the occupation—may I die a martyr’s death.”
Police said the suspect also maintained contact with a terrorist operative in Turkey, adding that their conversations included “expressions of praise and support” for the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel.
Prosecutors on Monday declared to the court their intention to charge the suspect with serious security offenses, including contact with a foreign agent, threats to carry out an act of terrorism and conspiracy to commit a terror act. His detention has been extended pending the filing of an indictment, police added.
“The Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency will continue to act decisively to thwart any attempt to harm the security of the State of Israel, its citizens and its elected officials,” police stated.
Ben-Gvir, whose office oversees the Israel Police, on Monday night thanked all security agencies “that acted with determination and professionalism and thwarted the attempt to harm me.”
“This is, thank God, the seventh time they have unsuccessfully tried to eliminate me,” he tweeted. “I say this clearly: They will not deter me or frighten me.”
“I will continue to lead a determined and uncompromising policy for the security of Israel’s citizens—in the Negev, in the Galilee, and in Jerusalem,” Ben-Gvir continued.
“It is no coincidence that we saw a historic result of the quietest Ramadan since 2013,” he said. “This is the result of policy, of governance and of backing for the fighters in the field. We will continue to act with strength, responsibility and determination.”
Ben-Gvir concluded by stating that “whoever believes does not fear.”
In September, a Hamas terrorist cell from the Hebron area was arrested by Israeli security forces for plotting to assassinate Ben-Gvir using explosive-laden drones. The joint operation by the Shin Bet and Israel Defense Forces uncovered that the suspects had acquired drones with the assistance of Hamas’s Turkey offices.
Israeli security forces have thwarted numerous attacks in recent years targeting the right-wing minister, who heads the Otzma Yehudit Party.
In March 2023, Israel Police arrested a man from eastern Jerusalem who confessed to plotting to assassinate Ben-Gvir. The Arab suspect planned to steal police license plates and affix them to a car to get close to him.
Six months later, the Israel Security Agency arrested five suspects who Iran allegedly recruited to murder Ben-Gvir and former Knesset member Yehudah Glick, both staunch advocates of Jewish prayer rights on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
In April 2024, the Shin Bet foiled a plot to kill Ben-Gvir using a rocket-propelled grenade. According to authorities, terrorists also planned to attack Ben-Gurion Airport, the government complex in Jerusalem, IDF bases, other sensitive sites and the town of Kiryat Arba.
Seven months later, three Arab terrorists from Hebron were charged with plotting to murder Ben-Gvir and his son. The main defendant, Ismail Ibrahim Awadi, was in touch with the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups for assistance in carrying out a series of planned attacks.
