Israeli court convicts man of attempted threats against Minister Ben Gvir

An Israeli court convicted a defendant of attempted threats for four Facebook posts against National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, rejecting the defense that the posts were protected political protest. The defendant was acquitted of a separate threat charge against the minister's office director.

The court today (Tuesday) convicted a defendant of attempted threats, after he published four threatening posts on his Facebook account against National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Among other things, the defendant wrote "he who rises to kill you, rise early to kill him" and "destined for a bad end." The judge rejected the defense's argument that the statements were made as part of political protest and protected by freedom of speech, ruling that this attempt cannot be accepted. However, the defendant was acquitted of the threat charge against the minister's chief of staff, as it was determined that the posts were not directed at her, and the defendant did not even know who she was or her role. The article does not detail the sentence.