Suspect who threw salt shakers at Bennett cursed him in questioning

Update, 25 September, 20:07 Israel time

The suspect in the Bnei Brak incident has been named and brought before a court, and the object thrown at Bennett is now described as salt shakers rather than a bottle. Ynet reported that the suspect, whom it identified as Eliya Azrad, used a vulgar slur during his interrogation. Ynet also reported that police told the court the case amounted to an attempt to harm a public figure at a volatile time.

N12 reported that, according to the investigation, the suspect is believed to have thrown 2 salt shakers toward Bennett and missed him. At the hearing, according to N12, the police representative said an attempt to harm a public figure during such a period gave grounds to consider him dangerous, and added that he has a criminal record. N12 said the suspect swore at Bennett during questioning and said "everything is from God".

The two outlets report different sides of the hearing:

• Defence. According to Ynet, the suspect's lawyer argued there was not enough evidence tying Azrad to the act.
• Court. Ynet reported that the judge ruled that testimony from a police officer who was present was enough, at this stage, to support the suspicion.

Neither report says whether the suspect has been charged or how long he will remain in custody. Neither addresses the earlier News.co.il account that the Shin Bet made the arrest, though it was the police who presented the case in court.

The story as first reported

An object was thrown at former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett while he was inside a restaurant in Bnei Brak, and a suspect was detained at the scene, Ynet, N12 and News.co.il each reported. Ynet reported that Bennett himself was not struck, but that a woman on his team was hit, and that the suspect was arrested immediately.

Bennett later addressed the incident. In a Ynet alert, he was quoted as saying that "one of the women on the staff was hurt and was treated at the scene." None of the outlets describe the nature of her injury beyond that statement.

Why Bennett was in Bnei Brak

Bnei Brak is a densely populated city just east of Tel Aviv and one of the main centres of Israel's Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, community. Bennett, who served as prime minister and is now campaigning ahead of national elections, had come to the city to film campaign material. Ynet said he was there to shoot a "parliament" style video with yeshiva students, meaning young men studying in traditional religious academies. N12 reported that he had come to talk with young Haredi men.

A post on the News.co.il channel said Bennett arrived with his social media team at a restaurant it named as Motis.

Confrontations at the scene

The visit drew protest around the incident. According to N12, Hezki Drotman, an activist with the Jerusalem Faction, shouted "antisemite" at Bennett. The Jerusalem Faction is a hardline ultra-Orthodox group known for street protests against military conscription of yeshiva students.

N12 and Ynet both reported that Mordechai David, a right-wing activist, also came to confront the former prime minister. In N12's account, Bennett told him: "I suggest you enlist; when I am prime minister you won't get a shekel from the state." Ynet's version of the exchange also features a call to enlist, with the added word "quickly".

The question of whether ultra-Orthodox men should be drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, and whether state funding for yeshivas should be tied to that, has long been one of the most divisive issues in Israeli politics, and the exchange reflects that dispute.

What was thrown, and by whom

The outlets differ on several details of the incident itself.

• The object. Ynet described objects, in the plural, being thrown toward Bennett. N12 referred to a single object. A post on News.co.il, citing reporter Menachem Kolditzky, said it was a glass bottle.
• The suspect. News.co.il's post described the thrower as a 30-year-old man. N12 described him as a passerby.
• Who made the arrest. News.co.il said the man was detained by the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency, which is responsible for guarding senior officials. N12 said the police arrested the suspect.
• Who was hit. An early N12 update said only that the object did not hit Bennett. A later, edited version of that update referred to a member of Bennett's staff, though its wording is unclear. Ynet, and Bennett's own statement, say a woman on his team was hurt.

All three organisations agree that Bennett was not hit and that a suspect was taken into custody.

What the reports do not say

The outlets do not name the suspect or give any motive. They do not say whether he has been charged, questioned or released, or whether he is connected to either of the activists who confronted Bennett. They do not describe the staff member's injury, beyond Bennett's statement that she was treated on site, and they do not say whether she needed hospital care. No statement from the police or the Shin Bet appears in the material, so the question of which body carried out the arrest remains unresolved. Ynet's headline refers to video of the incident, but the coverage does not describe what it shows.