Despite preparations and arrangements for their return to Israel from Miami on an El Al flight, Sara Netanyahu and her son Yair did not board the plane they were scheduled to take, which landed Thursday morning at Ben Gurion Airport. As far as is known, the two were on their way to the flight but ultimately did not arrive.
The Prime Minister’s Office and representatives of the Netanyahu family declined to comment. Sara Netanyahu has been in Miami for more than five weeks alongside her son Yair. It is not known what she has been doing there, and no documentation of her time abroad has been released.
Both she and Yair are routinely protected by the Shin Bet’s Personal Security Unit, at an annual cost of millions of shekels. This is a highly complex security operation that requires flying security personnel in and out and rotating them. Security was recently reinforced, but the Prime Minister’s Office has not addressed the matter.
While in Miami, Yair Netanyahu was elected on January 11 to serve as a member of the Likud Central Committee representing the Ma’aleh Yosef branch, which is affiliated with Knesset member Sasson Guetta. The appointment was made during the most recent Likud convention, at which a new Central Committee was selected. Unlike other branches around the country, no elections were held in the Ma’aleh Yosef branch, which represents a regional council near the northern border, and all parties reached agreements. Yair Netanyahu was appointed through Guetta’s allotments, apparently as an effort to help the younger Netanyahu integrate into the party.