Israeli president held for 40 minutes on plane in Paris over potential security threat

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Jul 24. () –

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has landed in Paris for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday, but had to wait 40 minutes on board his plane due to a possible security threat.

About 40 minutes after landing, President Herzog and his accompanying delegation were able to disembark from the plane and resume their agenda as planned, a spokesman for the Israeli presidency confirmed, but did not provide further details of the incident.

As reported by the Walla news portal, and by other local media such as The Times of Israel, a suspicious person had been seen on a nearby rooftop as the plane carrying the president landed in Paris.

French authorities have deployed a large police presence in Paris ahead of the Olympic Games, which officially begin on Friday. The Israeli delegation will have even more security due to possible incidents in protest against the offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has already left more than 39,100 Palestinians dead.