High school student arrested for suspected death threats against Ben Gvir

A teenager was arrested on suspicion of sending death threats to National Security Minister Ben Gvir, his office said on Wednesday.

The girl’s family disputes the charges, saying its phones were hacked before the incident.

The 17-year-old, a high school student, was arrested at her home on Friday by the police’s Lahav 433 investigative unit.

The girl is suspected of sending messages to Ben Gvir’s personal phone saying that if he didn’t call a specified phone number, his wife Ayala “will be murdered this week.”

The messages also said that Ben Gvir’s son “will die,” and included a photo of the son, according to screenshots of the threats published by Hebrew media.

“This is a threat,” the messages said. “Ayala will die. Your son… will die.”

Investigators confiscated the phones of the girl and her family, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

The girl was brought to a police station but released soon after under some restrictions, the report said.

Before she was detained, a judge issued an arrest warrant, a step that was unusual for suspicions against a minor, the report said.

The suspect’s lawyer said the family’s phones had all been hacked before the arrest, and that the family had filed a complaint with police several days before the threats to Ben Gvir.

“Instead of investigating in depth the family’s complaint and clarifying the identity of the [hackers], the police decided to arrest this minor, a student and outstanding athlete, on a baseless suspicion,” the lawyer said.

Ben Gvir, a divisive far-right lawmaker, has been targeted by multiple death threats since taking office as national security minister late last year. Security forces also foiled an assassination plan against Ben Gvir by the Hamas terror group.