Two more arrested on suspicion of leaving gift-wrapped hand grenade at door of local politician

Police have arrested two additional suspects thought to be involved in the placing of a gift-wrapped hand grenade on the doorstep of a local politician in northern Israel, a spokesman says.

Earlier this week, prosecutors in the State Attorney’s Office indicted a young man and a minor who allegedly left the explosive, alongside a threatening note, outside the home of Merom HaGalil Regional Council chairman Amit Sofer.

Two others thought to be involved have been arrested since then, police say. One of the suspects, a 42-year-old resident from the northern moshav of Hazon, is said to have ordered the grenade to Sofer’s home in an effort to frighten the politician into changing the zoning of land owned by his family.

Sofer’s son found the explosive and note upon returning home from school on March 4, 2025, in the northern town of Bar Yohai. The note read: “Congratulations, we will visit your office as soon as possible.”

The other suspect, an older relative of one of the suspects arrested earlier, allegedly recruited the two to carry out the crime at the Hazon resident’s behest, then fled his home in Nazareth to the West Bank.

Police were granted an extension on the Nazareth resident’s custody and will bring the Hazon resident to the Nazareth Magistrate’s Court this morning in an attempt to also extend his detention.