Man arrested for attack on anti-Netanyahu activist outside president’s house

Police said Friday they arrested a man on suspicion of assaulting an activist for an anti-corruption watchdog while he was protesting outside the president’s residence against the possibility Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be asked to form the next government when he has been indicted.

Police said the man in his 30s was held on suspicion of assault and also for stealing a number of items from the activist from the Movement for Quality Government in Israel.

The watchdog argues that Netanyahu should not be asked by President Reuven Rivlin to form a coalition as he faces trial on criminal charges.

A second activist said a group of thugs set upon the man in the protest tent.

“In the middle of the night they arrived, knocked him to the ground, hit him and broke his phone and glasses,” the second person told Channel 12 news.

לפנות בוקר הותקף מאהל המחאהשלנו, על ידי מספר ביריונים. פעיל שלנו נחבל וכרגע נמצא בבית החולים.

האלימות הנוראית הזאת התרחשה לאחר שבשלושת הימים האחרונים, נתקלנו בסדרת התנכלויות ואלימות מילולית ופיזית של פעילי ליכוד, ממומני ליכוד, שלא חדלו לאיים לפגוע באנשי התנועה במאהל המחאה.>> pic.twitter.com/wNJrrk5noR

— התנועה לאיכות השלטון (@MovGov) March 6, 2020

Shani Kom, also associated with the anti-corruption group, told the outlet that it wasn’t the first time members of the group had been harassed.

“Netanyahu activists have been threatening us for three days now,” she said. There was no indication from police that the suspect was confirmed to be an activist who supported the prime minister.

Blue and White No. 3 Moshe Ya’alon responded to the attack, saying that Netanyahu bore some responsibility for the incident.

“Your incitement already led to bloodshed last night at the president’s house. It is a warning sign of political murder. You can’t say ‘my hands didn’t draw the blood,'” Ya’alon tweeted.

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz also appeared to respond to the attack, tweeting: “There will not be a civil war.”

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel filed a petition with the High Court of Justice on Tuesday arguing that Netanyahu should not be allowed to form the next government as he faces trial on criminal charges. However, the court rejected the petition because it was filed before the election results were finalized.

Unofficial final election results published Thursday gave Netanyahu’s Likud party 36 seats to rival Blue and White’s 33. The full results, published by the committee after delays in checking a number of polling stations and ballot boxes, also confirmed that the right-wing bloc of parties supporting Netanyahu had won 58 seats, three short of a majority needed to form a coalition.

Even when releasing the ostensibly final tallies, the election committee said they were not official, reserving the right to amend them before they are formally handed to the president next week.

Opposition parties have said they want to advance legislation that would prevent a person facing criminal charges from forming a government. The legislation is aimed directly at Netanyahu, who has served four terms as prime minister and has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three criminal cases against him; his trial is slated to begin on March 17.