Sara Netanyahu seeks recognition as ‘terror victim’ over launching of flares at home
PM’s wife claims suspects were trying to physically harm her family, though no one was harmed in incident, no damage was caused, and she wasn’t home at the time
Sara Netanyahu submitted a request to Israeli authorities to be recognized as the victim of a crime, specifically an attempted terror attack, after three flares were fired at the Netanyahus’ private residence in Caesarea earlier this month.
Nobody was harmed in the incident, no damage was caused to the house and neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his wife were home at the time.
Uriel Nizri, a family lawyer for the Netanyahus, nevertheless sent a letter to the police and the Shin Bet security service saying that the premier’s wife had been the target of “a severe terror event in which military explosives were fired at her house, causing damage and a fire to be ignited at the scene.”
Victims of a crime are by law entitled to be asked by prosecutors for their position regarding any plea bargain that might be proposed to those indicted over the incident, and the punishment that they might be given by the court. Crime victims are also entitled to financial benefits from the state.
Four suspects have been arrested over the incident, and a judge on Monday ordered the extension of their remand.
In his letter on Sara Netanyahu’s behalf, Nizri wrote that the premier’s wife was shocked to see media outlets downplaying the seriousness of the November 16 incident.
תיעוד: פצצות התאורה בחצר בית רה"מ בקיסריה | צפו
אורלי אלקלעי pic.twitter.com/pFdIQyHQNY— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) November 16, 2024
“This was an extremely serious event, which aided the enemy in a time of war and harmed the security of the country… in the most serious of ways,” Nizri wrote.
He also noted that the incident took place close to the anniversary of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, claiming that it demonstrated the suspects’ intention to physically harm Netanyahu.
Sara Netanyahu also filed a separate request to police for an attempted murder investigation to be opened against the suspects.
Responding to the requests, attorneys for the suspects issued a joint statement accusing the Netanyahu family of repeatedly playing the victim card and arguing that the premier’s wife was trying to influence the investigation against their clients, “even though it is clear that she was not at home at the time of the incident and that our clients had no intention of harming her, any of her family or their house.”
They added: “We will await the court’s decision on this matter and all that remains for us is to wish Mrs. Netanyahu well.”
Investigators believe suspects who fired flares at the prime minister’s home in Caesarea over the weekend carefully planned the act over the course of three weeks, according to information cleared for publication by a court last week.
Rear Adm. (res.) Ofer Doron, who was named as one of the suspects, was responsible for acquiring dozens of flares, which were expired leftover equipment obtained by anti-government activists, a senior official in police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit told Channel 12.
Protesters have held near-weekly demonstrations outside the prime minister’s Caesarea home since the government launched its controversial judicial overhaul plan early last year. Since the war in Gaza erupted with Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre, activists have held demonstrations in the coastal city demanding early elections, and calling on the government to strike a deal to free the Israeli hostages held in Gaza and restore security to southern and northern residents displaced by the war.
Sources close to the suspects were quoted by Channel 12 as saying that they had aimed to hold a “closing ceremony” on the day of the incident for the series of protests, noting that the Netanyahus had not spent time at the Caesarea residence for several months.
