Netanyahu Says Australia Should Consider Armed Guards at Public Events

‘In Israel, we foiled hundreds of terrorist attacks by having on-site people who had weapons,’ said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in a state memorial ceremony for the fallen soldiers of the two-year Gaza war at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on Oct. 16, 2025. Alex Kolomoisky/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Australia needs to lift its domestic security to another level following the Bondi terror attacks on Dec. 14.

Netanyahu had previously called for the intensification of security arrangements around Jewish institutions.

“In my letter to Prime Minister [Anthony] Albanese a few months ago, I stated clearly you’re going to have this uptick, it’s going to happen, there’s no question about it,” the Israeli leader said in response to ongoing anti-Semitism.

“In Israel, we foiled hundreds of terrorist attacks by having on-site people who had weapons. You cannot fight with your bare hands against somebody who comes with a Kalashnikov rifle or an automatic rifle. It’s impossible,” he told Sky News Australia.

Netanyahu says armed guards were a major factor counteracting threats against Israel.

“Imagine if you had on that beach [Bondi], on that Hanukkah gathering, if you had several armed people, several armed guards. Ten, 15, even five, it will be over.

“Recognise the change. You can recognise it before it hits these unspeakable, tragic proportions. And you see these Holocaust survivors, you see a 10-year-old girl, Matilda, snuffed out. That can be prevented.”

Netanyahu says the Albanese government did not act on his prior warnings against anti-Semitism and ISIS extremism.

“First, the anti-Semitic incitement, these marches that call to ‘globalise the Intifada.’ What does that mean? It means murder innocent Jews around the globe, wherever you can.

“And the radicals, ISIS, and the Muslim brotherhood fan it all the time.”

Netanyahu also warned that terrorists were looking for easier targets.

“These terrorists are now looking for the places where Jews are vulnerable, where they’re exposed, where they’re not sufficiently protected. That’s why they chose Australia. That’s why they chose Bondi Beach.”

The Israeli PMs comments come just hours prior to the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s announcement of the first national gun buyback scheme in 30 years.

The prime minister said the federal government would introduce legislation to support the funding of the buyback scheme, with costs split 50–50 with the states and territories.

“We expect hundreds of thousands of firearms will be collected and destroyed through this scheme. Consistent with the approach that was taken in 1996, the government is proposing that states and territories will be responsible for the collection processing and payment to individuals for surrendered firearms,” he said.

The Labor government is facing scrutiny for its response to the Bondi terror attack, which has claimed 15 lives so far.

Former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard, who introduced the first major buyback scheme after Port Arthur, said moves to limit gun ownership were to detract from the Labor government’s lack of action on anti-Semitism.

“Every time the question of fighting anti-Semitism comes up, he talks about Islamophobia,” he told Nine News on Dec. 16.