Yair Netanyahu
The harsh statement, since-deleted, was made as part of a retweet of Netanyahu-loyalist journalist Eli Zipori, who claimed that ‘it was revealed in discussions’ that Shin Bet personnel acted as sources for reporting by journalist Ben Caspit – who is known for his anti-Netanyahu stance
Yair Netanyahu, the son of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accused the Shin Bet security service of “being part of a coup against the prime minister” in a tweet on Monday, and called for establishing a commission of inquiry on the subject and for the responsible individuals to be “thrown in jail for many years.”
The harsh statement, since-deleted, was made as part of a retweet of Netanyahu-loyalist journalist Eli Zipori, who claimed that “it was revealed in discussions” that Shin Bet personnel acted as sources for reporting by journalist Ben Caspit – who is known for his anti-Netanyahu stance.
The people to which he was referring to are not Shin Bet employees and are employed by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The younger Netanyahu’s comments came only a day after he shared a Twitter post by U.S. Ambassador Tom Nides where he is seen visiting United Arab List chairman Mansour Abbas for his son’s birthday.
“You get it?” Netanyahu asked in the tweet, implying a connection between the visit and Nides’ call for the Israeli government to pull the brake on the judicial overhaul.
Seen by critics as an internet troll, Netanyahu is known for his incendiary rhetoric and his social media posts have repeatedly sparked controversy, such as when he posted an image on his Facebook page, laden with anti-Semitic imagery, which seemed to suggest that a conspiracy backed by financier George Soros was behind his family’s growing legal problems.
He was recently fined 400,000 shekels ($117,000) for libeling a journalist at the Walla news site and has called for legal action against those involved in the corruption trial against his father.
In comments made on his radio show on the “Galey Israel” station last December, Netanyahu’s son asserted that senior prosecutors and the police “have collaborated against an innocent man who happens to be the prime minister chosen by the people of Israel,” and therefore they should be tried for treason.
“What happened is a malicious coup d’état,” he said. “You can say it’s an insurrection, a treason; and everyone is welcome to read the Israeli criminal law book and look for themselves at what the punishment is. It’s not imprisonment.”
