Plan to assassinate Ben-Gvir on Temple Mount thwarted, Jerusalem Arab arrested

The suspect was also planning to murder another person and use the body as a negotiation chip.

By World Israel News Staff

The Central Unit of the Jerusalem District Police and the Shin Bet, Israel’s security agency, arrested a resident of eastern Jerusalem on suspicion of planning to murder Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir during the month of Ramadan, Hebrew-language Channel 13 reported Tuesday evening.

The suspect has been in custody for several weeks but due to a gag order, it was not publicized.

The suspect had gathered intelligence on Ben-Gvir and was planning to steal a police license plate so that he could approach the minister’s convoy and assassinate him in the Temple Mount area, the report said.

He reportedly met with terrorist elements in a neighboring country, who provided him with funds to assist in carrying out the murder, although some of the money would be transferred to families of terrorist prisoners.

During his police interrogation, the suspect admitted that he was planning to assassinate Ben-Gvir as well as carry out another murder, after which he would kidnap the body and use it as a negotiating chip – apparently for the release of prisoners.

The prosecutor’s office is expected to file an indictment against the suspect next week, charging him with contacting a foreign agent and terrorist activity.

“Thank you to the members of the security forces and the police who protect me and guard my life,” Ben-Gvir stated.

“I will not be deterred by attempts to harm me and will continue to strive for a strong, right-wing security policy in order to defeat terrorism and return security and governance to the streets,” he said.

Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislative Matters voted in favor of a bill calling for the death penalty for terrorists on Sunday.

“There is nothing more symbolic than passing a death penalty for terrorists law,” Ben-Gvir said.

Noting that the death penalty exists in the U.S., he went on to call it “a moral and fair law” that should “certainly also exist in a country where a wave of terrorism plagues the country’s citizens.”