Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a scheduled campaign appearance at an event in southern Israel on Monday, shortly after a Gaza terrorist group released a threatening video aimed at the premier.
The incident recalled two similar episodes in 2019, when Netanyahu was forced to take shelter during campaign events in the south due to rocket fire, generating humiliating images for Netanyahu and ammunition for his political opponents.
Netanyahu canceled his appearance at Monday night’s event at a cultural center in Ashkelon at the last minute, leaving his supporters waiting for him to appear for over two hours. In the end, he spoke to the audience via video and apologized for not showing up.
Netanyahu said he had not gone to the event due to reasons he could not elaborate on, while his associates said “policy discussions” were to blame, according to Channel 12.
Shortly before the event, the Gaza-based terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a video showing its members preparing to fire rockets at Israel. At the end of the video was footage of Netanyahu leaving an event following the 2019 rocket fire incidents. Over the image was the text, in Hebrew, “You forget.”
