Israel’s Security service thwarts assassination attempt on Netanyahu
Israel’s Internal Security Service reported that it prevented an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat.
According to published information, the group that attempted the assassination included three people who are members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). They were directed by a member of the organization from Syria. On June 3, all the detainees were charged.
During the investigation, 30-year-old PFLP activist Muhammad Jemal Rashda, a resident of the Shuafat refugee camp in the northeast part of Jerusalem, was detained. In the past, Rashda served a sentence in an Israeli prison for terrorist activities.
It is alleged that he coordinated his plans with foreign terrorists, in particular from Syria. The cell’s plans included an attack on a complex of American consulate buildings in Jerusalem and a delegation of Canadian army officers.
Soon after the arrest of Rashad, two more members of the cell were detained. The additional information they gave the security forces allowed them to substantiate their suspicions regarding the detained terrorists.
In 2001, the PFLP organized and carried out the assassination of Israeli Minister Rehavam Ze’evi.