Police indict 3 Palestinian residents of Hebron for attempting to murder Israeli national security minister Ben Gvir and his son

The Israel Police announced on Thursday that they had filed an indictment against three Palestinians who formed a terror cell to assassinate Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and one of his sons.

According to the results of the police investigation, three Palestinian men living in Hebron banded together to carry out the assassination.

The investigators received special praise from Deputy Commissioner Moshe Pinchi for their efforts.

“This is a very serious affair that is an example of the great efforts of the enemies of the state to carry out terror activities in Israel, to harm a senior minister and his son, security forces and other personalities.”

“The arrest and investigation of the terrorist cell and bringing them to justice constitute a significant achievement in the fight against terrorism and against any attempt to harm elected officials and the security of citizens,” said Pinchi.

The indictment submitted to a military court shows that the main defendant, Ismail Ibrahim Awadi, in June contacted several people, aiming to establish a cell that would obtain weapons and explosive devices to kill Ben Gvir, as well as Israeli security force personnel.

During his attempts to collect funding and training for the cell, Awadi contacted the terror organizations Hamas and Hezbollah to receive assistance.

The police indictment also showed that Awadi had gathered intelligence following the movement of Ben Gvir and his son, studying the types of vehicles they were traveling in and the number of security guards around them.

One of the options the cell found to kill Ben Gvir was to ambush him as he arrived at the scene of a prior terror attack, as the minister often does.

“I thank the 10th district of the Israel Police and the Shin Bet for arresting and bringing to justice the terrorist squad that planned to assassinate me and my son Shoval,” Ben Gvir said.

“Thanks to hard work and by God’s grace, we once again prevented the enemy from harming me and my family. I will continue to seek to worsen the conditions of terrorists’ imprisonment, for sovereignty and governance in the State of Israel, for the distribution of weapons, for the demolition of illegal houses and for the complete victory over the enemies – no terrorist will deter me,” he added.

Ben Gvir has been a highly controversial figure in Israeli politics over the years. He first became known as a lawyer who frequently defended Jewish extremists accused of violence against Palestinians and Christians.

When he entered politics, Ben Gvir disavowed some of his more extremist associations but continued to draw attention because of his controversial statements.

השר איתמר בן גביר בעלייה לקבר הרב כהנא ביום ההילולא. pic.twitter.com/IJcTHlwl4T

— דביר עמר (@dviramar2) November 19, 2024

Despite lately distancing himself from the political legacy of radical Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose 1990s Kach party was among the rare Jewish parties to be barred from elections for inciting racism, Ben Gvir was pictured praying over his grave in Jerusalem on Tuesday, the anniversary of Kahane’s death.

In a rare move, the U.S. State Department chose to condemn the security minister's decision.

“As we’ve said in previous and similar occasions, celebrating the legacy of a terrorist and a terrorist organization is abhorrent. We strongly condemn any attempt to whitewash acts of terrorism,” a State Department spokesperson said.

At a 2007 protest, Ben Gvir was convicted of incitement to racism and supporting a terror organization for holding up a sign reading “Expel the Arab enemy” and “Kahane was right.”