Seven people arrested in East Jerusalem for allegedly plotting assassinations on behalf of Iran

Targets include a nuclear scientist and the mayor of a city in central Israel

Oct. 22 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Israeli authorities announced this Tuesday the arrest of seven residents in East Jerusalem on suspicion that they were part of an Iranian-backed network that was planning attacks in the country, including the assassination of a nuclear scientist and the mayor of a city in the center. of Israel.

Sources from the Police and the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, have indicated that all the suspects are between 19 and 23 years old and that the cell would have been active for about two years, according to the newspaper ‘The Times’. of Israel’.

Thus, they have stated that the members of the group would have received thousands of shekels in payment for acts of vandalism, including graffiti demanding the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, and the taking of photographs in various areas.

These sources have stressed that these people even received orders to carry out a grenade attack against a member of the security forces, although this attack was not carried out.

In addition, the person identified as the leader of the group, who was in contact with an Iranian agent, received a photograph and the address of a nuclear scientist in preparation for his assassination, which was prepared but not carried out because the cell was arrested earlier. that they could carry out the attack.

The publication of these operations comes just one day after the Prosecutor’s Office revealed that seven Israelis had been detained for alleged espionage activities in favor of Iran, including taking photographs and collecting information on military bases and headquarters and the location of batteries of the ‘Iron Dome’ air defense system.

The Israeli Prosecutor’s Office noted that all those detained were residents of Haifa and other areas in the north of the country and added that among them there is a soldier who deserted his post and two minors. Furthermore, he emphasized that this is one of the most serious cases that he has investigated in recent years.

The authorities confirmed last week the arrest of two Israeli citizens suspected of carrying out acts of sabotage on behalf of Iran and of planning the assassination of a senior official in the country, without for now there being details on who would be the target of this alleged plot.

Over the past few months, Israel has claimed to have disrupted several Iranian plots, including recruiting Israelis to carry out the assassinations of several senior officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.