Suspect in alleged plot to assassinate Netanyahu identified as Tamar Gershuni
Prosecutors say the anti-government activist, 73, planned to ‘sacrifice her life’ and kill the premier after she was diagnosed with terminal illness
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Anti-government activist Tamar Gershuni has been identified as the suspect accused of plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after the Supreme Court cleared that detail for publication on Thursday.
The Tel Aviv resident, 73, allegedly planned to kill the premier after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and understood she had only a short time to live.
Gershuni is a well-known figure in anti-Netanyahu protest circles but does not formally belong to any specific group, according to the Ynet news site.
Prosecutors claim the defendant sought to die as a martyr and “sacrifice her life” for the anti-government struggle, thereby “saving” Israel.
Gershuni and her legal team deny the charges against her, according to Hebrew media outlets.
Her name was cleared for publication after the Supreme Court rejected her appeal requesting the extension of a gag order on her identity.
Gershuni is alleged to have spoken with other protesters about acquiring weapons and information about the prime minister’s security detail. She was arrested after lawyer, anti-government activist and former Shin Bet agent Gonen Ben-Yitzhak informed the security agency of her plot to kill Netanyahu with an RPG grenade launcher.
She is the latest in a series of Israelis to be nabbed in recent months for allegedly trying to kill Netanyahu or inciting to his murder. In 2024, multiple suspects were accused of assassination attempts against the prime minister and other senior office holders, past and present. As part of its wide-ranging effort to build a network of Israeli spies, Iran has also tried to recruit potential assassins.
Netanyahu has repeatedly railed against his political critics, claiming that they were inciting against him and his family. He has blamed the incitement on the justice system, law enforcement and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, accusing them of not doing enough to curb it.
Netanyahu himself has been repeatedly accused over the years of encouraging incitement that led to the 1995 assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, or at least of contributing to the incendiary political climate that led to the murder. He has denied such claims.
His rivals also accuse him of regularly inciting hatred against political opponents, the Israeli left and Arabs, either directly or through his loyalists.
The Times of Israel Community.