Israel arrests Palestinian for ‘plot’ to harm prime minister

Israel’s Shin Bet security service said it uncovered a plot against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The domestic intelligence agency said a resident of a refugee camp in East Jerusalem is among those in custody for alleged involvement in the plot, which was orchestrated from Syria and intended to harm Mr Netanyahu and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

Shin Bet said yesterday that Muhammad Rashdeh, 30, a Palestinian from Shuafat refugee camp, had also collected intelligence on his Syrian handler’s behalf to target the US consulate in Jerusalem and visiting Canadian officials, who were to train Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank.

It said the plan involved sneaking in an operative from Jordan and that “significant terrorist activity” had been foiled.

Mr Rashdeh was arrested on April 24. Two other suspects were also arrested but were not identified yesterday.

Mr Barkat said he was notified throughout the investigation and did not change his routine.

“No threat will deter us,” he said.

There was no comment from Mr Netanyahu’s office.

Muhammad Rashdeh, 30, is also accused of obtaining intelligence to target the US consulate in Jerusalem

Israel claimed Mr Rashdeh received his orders from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine general command.

The group, which is based in Syria, supports Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.

It carried out militant attacks in Israel in the 1970s and 1980s and has been deemed a terrorist organisation.

Mr Netanyahu is not the only high-profile politician in the country to be the target of an assassination plot.

In 2014, Israel arrested four Palestinians over a claimed plot to kill Israel’s current Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, using a rocket-propelled grenade.

Mr Lieberman is one of the Israeli cabinet’s most far-right members. Israel blamed Hamas, the rulers of Gaza, for the plot.

At the time, Mr Lieberman was the Israelis foreign minister but was the only serving foreign minister in the world to live outside his own country.

He lives in the West Bank settlement of Nokdim, which much of the international community deems to be illegal.

The men allegedly planned to fire the rocket-propelled grenade at his vehicle as he left the settlement.