The guillotine model sparked controversy
Shin Bet director: 'No concrete domestic threat to PM's life'
There was no domestic threat posed to PM Netanyahu's life, Shin Bet Director Argaman assures members of Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in response to controversial guillotine model displayed in Saturday night protest; 'We can see a significant drop in all aspects of Jewish terrorism,' Argaman says.
Shin Bet Director Nadav Argaman assured members of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that there was no concrete domestic threat to the life of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the wake of the controversy surrounding a man carrying a guillotine in a Saturday night Tel Aviv anti-corruption protest.
Argaman attended the committee's meeting Sunday to provide a regular periodical security overview. During his remarks, however, he was roped into commenting on the guillotine model appearing in the previous day's protest, Yedioth Ahronoth learned.
During the protest, designer Amit Brin carried around a model of a guillotine made of cardboard. In response, he was severely denounced by several public figures, including President Reuven Rivlin.
The controversial guillotine carried during Saturday night's protest
Argaman, however, was not of the opinion it represented any real threat. His reply was prompted by being asked by MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin (Zionist Union) during the meeting whether there were "any concrete threats to the lives of the prime minister or other leaders", and was even requested by her fellow party member Maj.-Gen. (res.) MK Eyal Ben Reuven to "point out any domestic threats."
In response, the Shin Bet chief communicated a message of ease, saying, "As far as Israelis go there aren't any concrete threats. If we're examining domestic threats, we can see a significant drop in threat levels."
Argaman was referring to the overall threats dealt with his organization's Jewish division. "We can see a significant drop in all aspects of Jewish terrorism. The number of event clusters has dropped. This trend is the result of multiple actions we've undertaken, including widespread welfare and education-based handling of the teenagers involved in these activities," Argaman said.
Shin Bet chief Argaman said no concrete domestic threats existed on the PM's life (Photo: Hillel Meir/TPS)
Part of the actions the Shin Bet chief was referring to is the "Hebrew Shepherd" project, operated by Shin Bet and welfare agencies and intended to prevent teenagers residing in the West Bank from carrying out or participating in "price tag" attacks against Arabs.
"There has been a drop in Jewish terrorism in general and in the threat against the prime minister in particular, and I can say that at this point in time there are no concrete threats on his life," Argaman concluded.
The Shin Bet added no further details to the director's analysis, saying, "We do not comment on anything said during committee meetings."
