Elderly Man Charged With Threatening Defense Minister Over Galatz Closure

An 84-year-old man from a kibbutz in the Jezreel Valley has been indicted for threatening to shoot Defense Minister Israel Katz. The indictment, filed at the Nazareth Magistrate's Court, stems from Katz's decision to close the radio station Galatz (Galei Tzahal).

According to the indictment, on November 12th of last year, the same day Katz announced the closure, the accused posted on his Facebook page: "I intend to shoot Israel Katz, the challenged and ugly man for the idiotic decision to close Galatz." The post contained spelling errors, as noted by the reporter.

Following a report of the threat, the suspect was summoned for questioning by the Migdal HaEmek police investigation unit. Evidence gathered was transferred to the police's prosecution department, which subsequently filed the charges for making threats.

"In his actions described above, the accused threatened Minister Katz with unlawful harm to his body, with the intention of frightening or provoking him," stated attorney Jean Abd al-Malek from the prosecution department. The defense attorney, Wassim Daher, commented that the accused is "completely normal, with no prior criminal record, who has never met police officers before. A law-abiding citizen who never intended to harm the minister. We will present our defense in court."