Suspicious object at President’s Residence causes brief scare

The President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday was briefly evacuated after a suspicious object was found at the entrance.

Sappers were called to the scene in order to examine the object and later said it did not contain any explosive material, Channel 1 reported.

President Reuven Rivlin and his wife Nechama were taken to a secure area and the rest of the residence was evacuated.

The potential bomb scare came ahead of an event marking the Sukkot holiday at the President’s Residence on Monday, which will be open to the general public.

Last month, the Israeli consulate in New York City was temporarily closed twice in four days after a pair of envelopes with white powder were sent to the building along with a direct threat on the life of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in the city for the United Nations General Assembly.

In both cases, the substances were determined to be harmless and the consulate was reopened.