Shin Bet confirms: Yair Netanyahu was evacuated to Israel following a significant threat

The Shin Bet confirmed this evening (Saturday) the main points of the report that Yair Netanyahu was urgently returned to Israel following a significant threat to his life. The service stated: "There was indeed a significant threat to harm Yair Netanyahu, and in light of this, and following a situation assessment, a decision was made to urgently evacuate him along with his security detail back to Israel."

The official confirmation comes three days after the American network "Newsmax" reported that Yair Netanyahu was the target of an assassination plot while living in South Florida. According to a US law enforcement source cited by the network, Israeli intelligence received information about a plot to harm him as early as last December and alerted US authorities. According to that report, Iranian operatives were already in the Miami area and were tracking Netanyahu's residence and movements. Following the threat, he was asked to leave the place immediately, returned to Israel without taking his belongings, and has been living in the country ever since.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed earlier this week in a live broadcast on Channel 14 that Iran tried to murder one of his sons, but refrained from specifying whether it was Yair or Avner:

"Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder him, tried to murder one of my sons."

The remarks were made during a phone call in which the Prime Minister was asked to address the issue of security for Yeshur chairman Gadi Eisenkot and the comparison to the security received by members of the Netanyahu family. Netanyahu replied that he had asked the head of the Shin Bet to provide security for Eisenkot, and in the same conversation explained why, in his view, the security for his family members is not a luxury:

"Iran 'targeted' one of my sons, therefore this security is not a luxury, without it - they will succeed."

The Shin Bet clarified earlier this week that the head of the service, David Zini, personally made the decision not to assign security to Eisenkot and bears sole responsibility for it. The decision was made after the service determined that there was no intelligence information or warnings of an intention to harm Eisenkot, and after Zini consulted with professional bodies, including the chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Noam Sohlberg.

However, the Shin Bet's response provided this evening does not address the identity of the party behind the threat to Yair Netanyahu, and it does not confirm the other details published in the American report.