A 27-year-old woman was held for questioning on Friday after she allegedly threw a handful of sand at National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as he visited a Tel Aviv beach, according to a police statement.
Police said the minister was at the beach with his family and that it takes the crime of “assaulting a public servant” seriously.
Ben Gvir, the leader of the far-right Oztma Yehudit party, oversees the police. He has often been the target of public protest for his hardline positions and his staunch opposition to a deal that would release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
Videos posted to social media showed Ben Gvir and his family at the seashore surrounded by several police officers and security forces, as several beachgoers shouted at the minister.
“Go, you’re not wanted here,” one man cried.
In another video, a man shouted that Ben Gvir was a “murderer” and that his children should know this.
“Murderer… The female hostages are being killed in Gaza,” the man yelled at Ben Gvir. “A murderer is strolling on the beach, a murderer of young girls, a murderer of female hostages. The female hostages are dying because of you.”
Some beachgoers could be seen in the videos approaching Ben Gvir to be photographed with him. The Otzma Yehudit chairman was seen smiling and waving despite the calls against him.
Sharon Goldenberg, an attorney, posted on social media on Friday evening that her daughter was the suspect arrested, and was still being held.
She said her daughter, who has no criminal record, was detained with hands and feet cuffed, and was tearful and afraid. She appealed for her daughter’s release.
Ben Gvir has been the most staunch opponent in the government to a potential deal, saying it would be a victory for Hamas and harm Israeli security.
He is viewed as a key catalyst behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued rejection of such a deal to be reached, as the premier depends on Ben Gvir for the stability of his coalition.
Supporters of a deal say it will not prevent Israel from continuing to prosecute the war in the future, and that its delay puts the lives of the hostages in Gaza at serious risk, with the most recent example being last week’s execution of six hostages, whose bodies were recovered and returned to Israel.
Ben Gvir has also been criticized for his management of the police. Since his tenure began in December 2022, police have regularly employed violence against anti-government protesters. Meanwhile, murder rates have risen across both the Arab and Jewish sectors of Israeli society.