Israel says Netanyahu’s son ‘urgently evacuated’ from the US after threat

Yair Netanyahu, a podcaster and right-wing activist, had been living in the US for several years prior to his departure.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s eldest son was flown back to Israel from the United States after a threat to his life, according to Israel’s domestic intelligence agency.The Shin Bet said in a statement on Saturday evening that, “there was a significant threat to harm Yair Netanyahu, and in light of this and after an assessment, a decision was made to urgently evacuate him along with his security team and return him to Israel”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israel’s Netanyahu claims Iran tried to kill one of his sonslist 2 of 3How Israel’s Netanyahu weaponises religion in his war rhetoriclist 3 of 3Turkiye accuses Israel’s Netanyahu of ‘genocide’, seeks Interpol warrantend of listThe agency did not specify the source of the threat.US broadcaster Newsmax reported earlier this week that Yair Netanyahu was the target of an alleged Iranian assassination plot last December, while he was living in Florida.Israeli intelligence informed US authorities after it had learned of the alleged plot, the broadcaster reported, citing a US law enforcement official.The report surfaced after Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14 that “Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons”.Yair Netanyahu, who was constantly accompanied by an Israeli security team, was ordered to leave the area immediately, Newsmax reported. He left without taking his personal belongings and returned directly to Israel.Netanyahu’s eldest son has lived in Florida for several years, where his “reportedly luxurious lifestyle and the state-funded security provided to him repeatedly drew public attention in Israel”, reported Israel" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23342" data-entity-type="organization">The Times of Israel.His continued residency in the US after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel provoked criticism from many Israelis. They questioned the double standard of Netanyahu’s son remaining overseas while hundreds of thousands of Israeli reservists were called up, the Israeli newspaper reported.