Sara Netanyahu and her son Yair are returning to Israel after several delays, following more than five weeks in Miami. Despite preparations for their return to Israel on an El Al flight from Miami, the two did not board the plane they were scheduled to take, which landed Thursday morning at Ben Gurion Airport. According to information available, they were on their way to the flight but did not arrive in time.
Ultimately, they boarded an afternoon flight from Miami and are expected to land in Israel on Friday. The Prime Minister’s Office and the Netanyahu family spokesperson both declined to comment on the details. 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 recent documentation of her time abroad has been released.
Both Sara and Yair Netanyahu are routinely guarded by Shin Bet’s VIP protection unit, at an annual cost of millions of shekels. The security operation is considered highly complex and 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 as a member of the Likud Central Committee, representing the Maale Yosef branch, which is affiliated with Knesset member Sasson Guetta. The vote took place during the most recent Likud conference, where a new Central Committee was selected. Unlike other branches across the country, no elections were held in the Maale Yosef branch, which represents a local council near the northern border. Instead, all parties reached agreements. Yair Netanyahu was appointed through Guetta’s allocation, apparently in an effort to help the younger Netanyahu integrate into party ranks.