A 73-year-old anti-government protester from Tel Aviv was indicted Thursday in the Tel Aviv District Court on charges of attempted conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism. The indictment outlines the sequence of events that led to her arrest and her alleged plan to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the indictment, filed by attorney Sarit Shemesh from the Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Office, the defendant told investigators that because she has "very little time left to live" due to a terminal illness, she was "prepared to die a martyr for the cause, to save the country." She said she was "desperate about the state of the country and her medical condition" and decided to “strike at symbols of authority and sacrifice herself.”
On June 23, the woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Around that time, she resolved to assassinate the prime minister, believing she had only days left to live.
Represented by attorneys Guy Arnberg and Giora Zilberstein, the woman held several meetings on the matter. Following a larger gathering of eight protest activists discussing ways to escalate their campaign, she engaged in several encrypted conversations via a secure app, attempting to erase any evidence. She also requested in-person meetings with fellow activists.
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One of those activists was urgently invited to her home. Once there, she asked to speak with him in her bedroom, leaving all mobile phones outside. She discussed her planned assassination, acknowledging it was motivated by her terminal diagnosis. She shared details of the plan she had already prepared, including knowledge of Netanyahu’s security arrangements.
The protester reportedly told him she planned to carry out the act regardless of his objections and asked for his help in obtaining a rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG.
At that point, the activist decided to alert Gonen Ben Yitzhak, a former Shin Bet officer. Ben Yitzhak reported the matter to the security agency. Together with the national crime unit Lahav 433, the woman was arrested and interrogated. During her first questioning, she admitted everything, but after being confronted with the activist she had spoken to in the bedroom, she denied the allegations and accused him of lying.
The court ordered that she remain under full house arrest until legal proceedings are concluded. The ruling stated: “Regrettably, her illness led her to devise a plan to assassinate the prime minister and end her own life, a ‘let me die with the Philistines’ scenario. Her condition remains unchanged, and the concern that she may attempt to carry out her plan against the prime minister or another government official is real and indicates a high level of danger.”