Attempted stabbing of Israeli opposition leader Yair Golan foiled at Tel Aviv election event

The Israeli Democrats party announced on Tuesday that an attempt to attack its leader, Yair Golan, with a knife in Tel Aviv was foiled after his security detail intercepted a man who approached him during a voter outreach event. A large knife fell from the suspect’s clothing before police arrested and took him into custody.

Golan accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of political incitement, saying after the incident, according to The Jerusalem Post: “Incitement and violence will not deter us. What happened is a direct result of the toxic machine run by Benjamin Netanyahu.” Authorities have not released details confirming the suspect’s motives or any connection to Netanyahu, according to available reports.

Prior to the incident, the threat level against Golan had been raised to four out of six, and Israel’s Shin Bet security agency announced it would take over his protection with state funding, according to Sky News Arabia.

The incident coincided with the Israeli elections to choose members of the 26th Knesset, a contest widely seen as a test of Netanyahu’s political future. 

The Central Elections Committee reported a turnout of 31.5 percent after five hours of voting, the highest at this stage since 1973, according to committee data cited by The Times of Israel. Around 7.3 million people are eligible to vote for the 120 Knesset seats.