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Mossad agents operating undercover in Iran detained and interrogated a member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) who was allegedly leading a plot to murder an Israeli diplomat in Turkey, sources have reportedly confirmed.
According to reports, Mansour Rasouli, 52, admitted that he was planning to target the unnamed diplomat who works at the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, in addition to an American general stationed in Germany and a journalist in France.
An audio recording claimed to be of Rasouli revealing the assassination plot aired on Israeli television networks. “We will assassinate these three for the Islamic Republic. They insisted this would be carried out,” a man’s voice says in the clip.
קטע מחקירת החשוד בניסיון התנקשות בדיפלומט ישראלי בטורקיה. מנצור רסולי, אזרח איראני, מודה שנשלח ע״י משמרות מהפכה לפגוע בדיפלומט ישראלי בטורקיה, בגנרל אמריקני בגרמניה והעיתונאי יהודי בצרפת pic.twitter.com/WzjWGs1xQN
— Alon Ben-David (@alonbd) April 30, 2022
Unnamed sources cited by Channel 12 news say the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) also participated in the operation to apprehend Rasouli.
In February, it was reported that Mossad has foiled at least 12 plots to carry out terror attacks against Israelis in Turkey over the past two years, most of which were linked to ISIS.
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Two Palestinian gunmen who are believed to be behind the terrorist attack which killed a security guard in the West Bank city of Ariel on Friday night have been arrested, officials have said.
The suspects — identified as Sameeh Assi and Yahya Marei by Palestinian media — were taken into custody in the nearby town of Qarawat Bani Hassan following a 20-hour manhunt, while the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said the weapons used in the attack were also seized.
Vyacheslav Golev, 23, was stationed at a security booth when the gunmen opened fire. He shielded his fiancée Victoria Fligelman, reportedly also a security guard, from the hail of gunfire.
CCTV footage of the attack shows a blue Suzuki car driving up to the guard post before a gunman in the passenger’s seat opens fire. The vehicle’s two occupants then both get out and shoot into the booth at close range.
The shooting, which was claimed by the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, comes amid a wave of terror attacks perpetrated by Palestinians and Arabs in Israel.
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The leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, warned the terror group will “not hesitate to take any steps” if Israel “violates” Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque in a fiery speech in which he also praised the recent spate of deadly terror attacks against Israelis and encouraged attacks on Jews worldwide.
“Our people must prepare for a great battle if the occupation does not cease its aggression against the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Sinwar said. “Violating Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem means a regional, religious war.” The Hamas leader threatened to violate “thousands of synagogues around the world” in response.
In the hour-long address, Sinwar also said there had been a “global shift” towards the Palestinian cause and urged the Islamist Ra’am party to leave Israel’s governing coalition.
Recent weeks have seen mobs of Palestinians armed with rocks and Molotov cocktails attack police at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on top of the Temple Mount, prompting Israeli security forces to disperse rioters.
Sinwar has accused Israel of taking its “first step” in a plan to “destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and build a temple” in its place.
“We drew and raised that sword so that the enemy would know that Al-Aqsa did not stand alone and that our nation would stand if Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem were violated,” Sinwar added.
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The Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper of Harvard University, has officially endorsed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in a newly published editorial piece.
In a complete reversal of the newspaper’s historically anti-BDS position, the editorial expresses support for Harvard’s Palestine Solidarity Committee, a student-led group that has over the past week hosted the school’s chapter of the annual “Israel Apartheid Week” event.
“We are proud to finally lend our support to both Palestinian liberation and BDS – and we call on everyone to do the same,” the piece states.
“In the past, our board was skeptical of the movement (if not, generally speaking, of its goals), arguing that BDS as a whole did not ‘get at the nuances and particularities of the Israel-Palestine conflict,'” it continues. “We regret and reject that view.”
Previous Crimson editors have rejected comparisons between Israel and Apartheid-ere South Africa, labeling such characterizations “offensive” and “repugnant.”
The latest editorial claims “Israel remains America’s favorite first amendment blindspot” because of anti-BDS laws that have been enacted to prevent boycotts of the Jewish state.
Recommended Reading
- Criticizing Israel Has Become a Permanent Obsession (Alan Baker, Algemeiner)
- Jordan Demands Total Control, Reduced Jewish Presence on Temple Mount (Israel Kasnett, Jewish News Syndicate)
- Rehab Robots Assist Post-Stroke Patients at Ben-Gurion University Lab (Simona Shemer, NoCamels)
- Israeli Judoka Timna Nelson-Levy Wins European Gold (i24NEWS)
- 20 Celebrities With Unexpected Connections to Israel, From Will Smith to J-Lo (Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21C)
