Right-Wing Activist Indicted for Threatening Bennett’s Family

On Friday, Ilana Sporta Hania, a right-wing activist, was indicted for sending threatening letters to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his family. The letters also contained bullets. The woman was charged with illegal possession of a firearm and extortion. The indictment was filed at the Petah Tikva Magistrates’ Court and it stated that the 65-year-old retired nurse had sent two letters addressed to Bennet, his wife as well as his teenage son, which contained bullets. She had threatened the safety of the family if the premier did not resign from his position. On April 25th, the first letter, which included a bullet, was received. 

It said that the bullet would neutralize Gilat and Bennett, if the latter did not resign. The letter had been delivered to the location of Gilat’s office, which is in a building adjacent to their home. The second letter was received two days letter and this one had been addressed to the couple’s 15-year-old son, Yoni Bennett. It was also sent with a bullet and had been delivered to their home in Ra’anana. The letter warned that this was the bullet that would hit Naftali Bennett and his son if he did not tender his resignation. 

According to the indictment, both the letters had been prepared at the Ashkelon business of Hania between April 3rd and April 11th. The charges were denied by the right-wing activist. The prosecution said that she was still a threat due to which she should remain in custody until the legal proceedings against her come to an end. The prosecution said that considering the nature and seriousness of Hania’s actions and the political fervor behind them, she could be a danger to the security of the public, the prime minister and others around him. The investigation revealed that she had also attempted to seek the assistance of other political activists, albeit without their knowledge.

This was done to obtain the workplace address of the premier’s wife, Gilat Bennett. The ultimate conclusion drawn by the police was that Hania was solely responsible for the threats. While Hania’s handwriting has been matched to the one used in the threatening letters by laboratories, the law enforcement officials are still unsure of where she obtained the bullets used. Analysts also discovered that a threatening letter had also been sent previously to Avichai Mandelbit, the attorney general. This was because he had decided to press charges against Benjamin Netanyahu, who had been prime minister at that time.

A source disclosed that while Hania had certainly made mistakes, she had also taken precautions. Last week, details had emerged about her history of activism in favor of the Likud party and Benjamin Netanyahu. She had also been investigated previously for sending threats to politicians with whom she disagrees. She was filmed in September for calling on a former member of the Likud party, MK Benny Begin, to drown himself. The police also informed the court last week that Hania had called the prime minister a ‘traitor’, ‘murderer’ and a ‘swindler’ on social media.