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Jan. 27, 2021
The police filed charges this month against a psychiatric patient for allegedly threatening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but a volunteer nurse says the man made his remarks while talking to himself and cats near the facility where he is hospitalized.
The man in his 40s, who is under forced hospitalization, reportedly said that he “has a plan if Bibi is elected, adding that he has a gun and an army.”
The patient, who has appeared several times at protests outside the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, told investigators that he is dealing with psychological issues and never planned to hurt Netanyahu.
Illustrative: A psychiatric hospital (Noam Moskowitz/Flash90)
Police charged a psychiatric patient for allegedly threatening the life of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, based on comments he muttered to himself and to cats at the institution where he is hospitalized, a report said Tuesday.
At a remand hearing on the case, a Tel Aviv judge said he did not believe the threat was serious or credible since the patient has previously been deemed mentally unfit for trial. The judge criticized police for pushing the indictment, the Haaretz daily reported, and refused to remand the suspect into custody.
The patient has denied saying he would hurt the prime minister.
Jan. 25, 2021
Police are preparing for violent protests in the ultra-Orthodox community to continue until the current coronavirus lockdown ends and have beefed up their forces in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak, where most of the recent violence has occurred.
Hundreds of members of the radical ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Faction rioted in Bnei Brak late Sunday night against police enforcement of coronavirus restrictions. Protesters who had gathered near the city’s central synagogue threw stones at officers, prompting one to fire his gun in the air after he reportedly feared for his life. Hundreds of protesters blocked main roads in the city, and some attacked news teams from Kan 11 public television and Channel 13. Police used stun grenades to try to disperse the crowds.
Neve Tirtza Women’s Prison in Ramla on March 26, 2019 (Moshe Shai/Flash90)
“The chief physician at the Israel Prison Service ignores my inquiries and did not even bother to send me her heart echo on the grounds that there was no change in her condition,” Adler wrote. “However, when the document reached my family members, it became clear that her condition had indeed worsened in a life-threatening manner. This is a scandal in medical care and criminal neglect.”
Adler said that therefore, Refaeli “has to be hospitalized immediately because her life is in danger.”
When asked for comment, the Israel Prison Service said that it was unable to address the case due to patient and prisoner confidentiality.