Shin Bet chief speaks with police chief on rising ‘violent, inciting discourse’ against PM

Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar speaks with police commissioner Kobi Shabtai regarding the “increase in violent and inciting discourse against elected officials in general and the prime minister in particular,” the agency says.

In their conversation, Bar noted that “in recent days there has been an increase in the scope and severity of public statements, with an emphasis on social networks, which contain calls for physical harm and violent activity against the Prime Minister and other elected officials,” the Shin Bet says.

The agency says the pair agreed on a “zero tolerance” approach toward “those who incite violence or call for harm to individuals and elected officials, as well as those who call for harm to protesters.”

“The right to demonstrate and protest is a legal and an important right in a democratic country, and alongside this, it is correct to clarify that calls for harm and violence are outside the legitimate discourse,” the Shin Bet adds.