Israeli Deputy FM Warns Hizbullah against Targeting Diplomats Abroad
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Dany Ayalon warned Hizbullah against attacking Israeli citizens after reports that Cairo uncovered a plot by al-Qaida-linked suspects to murder Israel”s ambassador to Egypt.
"If Hizbullah touches a single hair of an Israeli official or an Israeli tourist abroad, it will suffer the consequences and they will be very serious," Ayalon told public radio.
Egypt”s independent daily al-Masri al-Yom reported on Saturday that a group of Egyptian Islamists linked to al-Qaida recently arrested in Egypt said they had planned to assassinate ambassador Shalom Cohen in Cairo.
The report, which did not mention Hizbullah, said the plot was foiled thanks to the reinforced security measures taken by the Egyptian authorities.
Ayalon insisted however that he believed that Hizbullah was involved and said Israel was looking into the Egyptian newspaper report with the "utmost seriousness."
"We know that in Egypt, and in other countries, the Hizbullah has and continues to plot attacks" against Israeli interests, Ayalon said.
"There is an ideological and operational link between various Islamist groups," he told the radio. "They all have the same objective and it is the same diabolical mind that puts them into action."
Israeli media carried the Egyptian report on Sunday, with the Channel 10 private television speaking of the "excellent (security) cooperation" between Egypt and Israel against militants.
An Egyptian judicial source meanwhile denied in statements to AFP that the suspects had mentioned any plans to murder Cohen during their interrogation.