Woman arrested on suspicion of throwing wet sand at Ben Gvir questioned again by police in Tel Aviv

A Tel Aviv woman who was released to house arrest last night after she was arrested and held overnight for allegedly assaulting National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir with wet sand has been questioned again by police.

Noa Goldenberg, 27, has acknowledged being at the beach during the minister’s visit on Friday but denied the allegations against her.

Speaking to reporters outside the Tel Aviv police station, Goldenberg’s husband Tomer says that his wife is not connected to anti-government protests.

Noa Goldenberg, suspected of throwing sand at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on the beach in Tel Aviv, is seen with her husband Noam after a police investigation in Tel Aviv, September 8, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

“Noa did not want all this fuss around her. She is not well. We hope it will pass and end as soon as possible,” he is quoted as saying by the Ynet News site.

During her remand hearing last night, a few hundred activists gathered outside the court to protest Goldenberg’s arrest. Her detention and the subsequent decision to hold her in custody while leaving her family in the dark had sparked accusations of police overreach and abuse of power by Ben Gvir, who oversees the force.