- The Attorney General is a frequent target of criticism for supporting the conscription of ultra-Orthodox men
- Suspect sought a din rodef decree, Jewish legal concept invoked in the past to justify extra-judicial killings
- Yitzhak Yosef immediately alerted the police, who traced the man to his home and took him into custody
Israel's police force said Friday it pressed charges against a man suspected of asking a senior rabbi for religious permission to assassinate the country's attorney general.
The 36-year-old was arrested Wednesday in Jerusalem after delivering a letter to influential rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, Israeli media reported, requesting a decree authorising the killing of Gali Baharav-Miara.
Yosef immediately alerted the police, who traced the man to his home and took him into custody.
A court has extended his detention until at least Sunday.
Baharav-Miara has clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government since it took office in late 2022, challenging the legality of some of its decisions.
She is a frequent target of criticism from far-right and ultra-Orthodox groups, particularly for her support of the conscription of military-age men from the ultra-Orthodox community, who have long been exempted from service.
According to police, the suspect sought rabbinical authorisation to kill the attorney general to "preserve human lives".
He is believed to have requested a "din rodef" -- a traditional Jewish legal concept permitting the extra-judicial killing of someone deemed an imminent danger to others.
The concept has no place in Israeli law but has been invoked by extremists in the past.
Former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was the object of a "din rodef" by some religious figures before his 1995 assassination over the Oslo peace accords.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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