Israel Matzav

An easy target

A security expert told Army Radio on Monday that Prime Minister Netanyahu was an 'easy target' for assassination on Sunday in Paris, and had he been Netanyahu's security adviser, he would have resigned rather than let Netanyahu go to Paris.

[Colonel (Res.) Benny] Tal told the station that anyone with a gun could have fired at Netanyahu from one of apartments in the buildings that lined the street in which the march passed. He said that Netanyahu was the prime terror target in the march – more so than the leaders of France, Britain or Germany – and should have been accompanied by at least ten guards who are taller than he is, scanning the possible lines of fire.

By "pushing" his way into the front row, said Tal, Netanyahu placed himself in greater danger, because he was completely exposed from the front. The security men who held his arm and shoulder would have been useless if Netanyahu had been hit by gunfire. “This is worse than gross negligence,” he said. “We already had a prime minister taken down in Tel Aviv – do we need this to happen in France, too? What would that do to our deterrence?”

Tal noted that Netanyahu was highly at risk as he waited for a bus to take him to the march from the Elysee Palace, as well. Netanyahu kept a stiff upper lip during the wait, but was visibly concerned, as video from the event shows (below). Tal noted that security teams often use deception in situations like these, sending a "dummy motorcade" in one direction and bringing the person they are protecting to the location from another direction, sometimes in disguise. In this case, Netanyahu was completely visible throughout the event.

The security detail is probably not to blame, said Tal, who faulted Netanyahu for deciding just hours before the event that he would attend it. In an event of this magnitude, he added, security men should have been on location a week ahead of time, he explained, making sure that all the arrangements were properly planned.

Emphasis mine.

I was wondering about Netanyahu walking at the front of the line like that. He did look quite stressed in all the pictures and video of the march that I saw.  I remember wondering if there had been an unpublicized threat to his life.

By the way, the two guys with the shaven heads at Netanyahu's left and right are probably from the security detail, as is the guy holding him from behind (we Israelis can smell these people a mile away :-).

I realize that he really wanted to go, but it's kind of surprising in retrospect that he wasn't talked out of it. Even had Obama shown up, I think Netanyahu still would have been the biggest target.

But as far as what Tal says about taking a week - come on. Rabin's funeral took much less time than that and had at least as many heads of state and other dignitaries.

Labels: assassination attempt, Binyamin Netanyahu, Islamic terrorism, Paris

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:27 PM