Israel’s prime minister will leave Berlin earlier than planned. The background is an attack in northern Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortens his visit to Berlin. Instead of leaving on Friday morning as originally planned, he wants to leave on Thursday evening, as the Israeli embassy told the dpa news agency. Netanyahu is due to arrive in Berlin on Wednesday evening for a working visit. As usual, the highest level of security applies to him in the capital. On Thursday he is to meet, among others, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The background to the shortening of Netanyahu’s stay is a bomb attack in northern Israel and its aftermath. A young man from the Arab village of Salem was seriously injured by shrapnel in the explosion near Megiddo – south-east of the port city of Haifa. According to the information, the bomb was hidden on the side of a traffic road and detonated there.
The government imposed a 48-hour news blackout on Monday after the incident. This Wednesday, the authorities announced further details: Among other things, that the alleged perpetrator was shot. The Israeli military spoke of a “security incident” in connection with the attack.
Military circles: Unusual explosive device
According to the military, the explosive device was similar to those previously used by Hezbollah fighters against Israeli soldiers in the southern sector of Lebanon. The Israeli army withdrew from the so-called security zone in 2000. “The explosive device was unlike anything else we deal with in the region,” said military sources. It is different from bombs that are encountered in the Palestinian territories or in northern Israel.
The alleged assassin apparently entered Israel from Lebanon via the northern border and from there reached Megiddo. According to initial findings, he is said to have returned with a driver to the border town of Jaara, around 70 kilometers away.
Suspect shot dead
There, soldiers found him and shot him because he posed a threat to them, the military said on Wednesday. The suspect, who presumably made his way to Israel from Lebanon, had a suicide belt, a rifle, a pistol and other weapons with him. However, his exact identity was still unclear. “We assume that he wanted to carry out another terrorist attack,” it said.
The army has increased its alertness in the north, but there are no special instructions for the Israeli population in the border area.
