Benjamin Netanyahu Photo: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
Israeli prosecutors have charged four Israelis who fired naval flares at the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Caesarea on 16 November, the Jerusalem Post reports. They are charged with a terrorist attack using fire and attempted arson.
Among the accused: Vice Admiral Ofer Doron (retired), 63, former commander of the Israel Aerospace Industries space division; his son Gal Doron (27); and Itai Yaffe (62) and Amir Sadeh (62). The prosecutor’s office has requested that their arrest be extended until the end of the trial.
Preparation and execution
According to the indictment, on 16 November, the suspects arrived at the scene in two cars and studied the location of the police and security services to avoid their attention. They then approached the residence at a distance of about 270 metres, avoiding the security cameras.
Two of the defendants, Gal Doron and Itay Yaffe, launched the rockets under the direction of Ofer Doron, who recorded their actions on his phone. All four knew that at the time of the incident, the Prime Minister was absent from his residence.
“These actions were committed with recklessness that could pose a threat to life or cause injury, and the motive was ideological or political beliefs,” the indictment reads.
Motives and avoidance of detention
According to the prosecutors, the defendants sought to send a signal to the prime minister and the public that protest activity in Caesarea was continuing. They hoped to create a “cumulative effect of pressure” on Netanyahu to further the goals of the protest.
After launching the rockets, the suspects threw their gloves and the remains of the pyrotechnics into the bushes and then tried to leave the area. When they found out about the police checkpoint on the outskirts of Caesarea, they split up and hid in different houses, waiting for the police to leave.
Ofer and Gal Doron also planned a coordinated version of events so that in the event of arrest, they could claim that Ofer, not his son, had launched the missiles.
A warning from Shin Bet
The defendants were active members of the Moked Keisaria protest movement, which regularly holds rallies near the Prime Minister’s house. As stated in the indictment, Ofer Doron and Amir Sadeh received a warning from the Shin Bet in September about the inadmissibility of using pyrotechnics during protests.
Consequences of the incident
The naval flares used by the suspects are capable of causing serious injuries in the event of a direct hit. According to prosecutors, the defendants acted knowing that there was a possibility of a fire in a populated area near the prime minister’s residence.
The trial is ongoing, and the incident has drawn attention to the protest movement in Caesarea and political tensions in Israel.
