Cyprus police arrest alleged Hezbollah terrorist planning attack on Israelis

Cyprus police arrested a suspected Hezbollah terrorist after finding explosives in his home, preventing what most likely would have been a catastrophic terror attack against Israelis there.

Police stand outside the house where a suspected Hezbollah terrorist was preparing an attack. (AP/Petros Karadjias)

Police in Cyprus this week arrested a man who they suspect of planning to target Israeli interests on the island country following the discovery of two tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in his basement.

Commonly used as a fertilizer, ammonium nitrate can be used as an explosive, which was the case in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

The 26-year-old suspect was born in Lebanon but held a Canadian passport and was detained by Cypriot police on May 27, Reuters reported. Local newspaper reports indicate that the suspect, who has not been named, may have close links with Hezbollah terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah is widely believed to be behind the 2012 bus bombing in the Bulgarian resort city of Burgas that killed five Israeli tourists and their bus driver. In 2013, a Swedish citizen was arrested in Cyprus for planning to attack Israeli targets. Cyprus is a popular tourist destination for Israelis, and the Jewish state maintains an embassy in the capital of Nicosia.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a meeting Sunday with German Foreign Minister Dr. Frank-Walter Stenmeier, “Today, Iran is sponsoring terrorism across the globe beyond the Middle East, in the Middle East, but also in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas. Iran is building a vast infrastructure of terror. The news of a Hezbollah plot in Cyprus is yet another wake-up call. There is no Hezbollah without Iran.”

By: JNS.org

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