Netanyahu guard appears to raise gun near beachgoers while clearing area to film video
In second such incident within a week, Shin Bet says weapon was only raised because officer was climbing stairs, and posed no risk, as Tel Aviv shore secured for PM’s arrival
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A member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security detail appeared to have his gun drawn at beachgoers as the team cleared the Tel Aviv beach ahead of the premier’s arrival on Monday, in the second such incident within a week.
The officers were sent to Charles Clore Beach to clear the area before Netanyahu’s arrival to film a video hailing the finding of the Altalena cargo ship, which was sunk amid a deadly 1948 confrontation between Israel’s nascent army and the right-wing Irgun militia.
An image taken from the scene, and first reported by Channel 12 news, showed one of the officers with his gun raised while two women in swimwear looked on.
In response, the Shin Bet security agency — which is responsible for Netanyahu’s security detail — said in a statement that at no point was a weapon pointed at civilians who were there, and there was no risk to them.
“It should also be clarified that the position of the weapon photographed was caused solely by the security guard climbing the stone steps,” it said.
Netanyahu went to the beach to record a video statement in which he denounced Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, for ordering the military to attack the Altalena. The prime minister also took the opportunity to denigrate his political opponents, and irritated allies by deciding to record a video rather than appear alongside National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at a live press conference nearby.
In a similar incident last week, footage showed an officer in the unit drawing his assault rifle on a crowded highway during a routine journey by the premier’s convoy in Tel Aviv.
The video, filmed on August 19 from a nearby building, shows the armed security officer aiming the rifle at a target while perched in an open door of the moving vehicle.
In response to the footage, the Shin Bet said that “all actions carried out by the security guard were conducted as required, without posing any risk to civilians, in accordance with the procedures and authority granted to him by law.”
Netanyahu is protected by the Shin Bet’s Unit 730, which is tasked with guarding the seven top public officials in Israel: the president, prime minister, defense minister, foreign minister, speaker of the Knesset, opposition leader, and Supreme Court president.
The Times of Israel Community.