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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts his ballot in the Likud party primary held in Jerusalem on the 17th (local time). / Reuters, Yonhap

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vigorously pushed back on the 24th (local time) against recent controversy over excessive security for his family, stating that his son had faced an assassination threat.

In a telephone interview with the pro-government broadcaster Channel 14, Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed that Iran targeted and attempted to kill one of his sons.

However, he did not disclose which of his two sons, Yair or Avner, was targeted, nor did he provide specific details.

Channel 12 reported that an assassination attempt occurred while the elder son, Yair Netanyahu, was staying abroad, though it did not specify whether he was the direct target.

According to local media, Israeli security authorities had been aware of the matter for several months and had placed the details under military censorship.

Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized that the assassination attempt would have succeeded without security support, asserting that the protection his family receives is by no means a luxury.

The Times of Israel (TOI) reported that these remarks are seen as a defense of a recent agreement with the Shin Bet security service to extend security coverage for his two sons regardless of the outcome of the upcoming October general election and to provide lifetime security for his wife, Sara Netanyahu.

Close Shin Bet protection for the Netanyahu family was first approved in March 2023 after Sara Netanyahu was surrounded by anti-government protesters.

However, the arrangement has faced criticism as an excessive waste of taxpayer money, as deploying two elite agents and a driver for his eldest son Yair—who primarily resides in a luxury apartment in Miami, Florida, in the U.S.—costs state coffers approximately 200,000 shekels (around 92 million won) per month.

                                                                                                            Lee Jung-eun