U.K. consulate staff arrested in plot to bomb Jerusalem soccer stadium
Two Palestinian employees of the U.K. consulate general in East Jerusalem have been arrested over an alleged weapons plot; the U.K. Foreign Office spokeswoman said the two consulate employees were suspected of trying to obtain weapons for a rocket attack on Teddy Stadium, the home of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team; the activities of the two consulate employees included systematically checking how best to launch rockets into the stadium while the stadium was crowded with people during a game; the launching of the rockets was to be carried out by two Hamas members, who were also arrested; questions raised in the U.K.. about vetting procedures at the consulate
Teddy stadium, aborted rocket-attack target // Source: jewishjournal.com
Two Palestinian employees of the U.K. consulate general in East Jerusalem have been arrested over an alleged weapons plot, Israeli officials say. The U.K. Foreign Office confirmed the arrests, linked to plans to fire a rocket at a football stadium.
The men, who had maintenance jobs and did not have sensitive security clearance, allegedly helped obtain weapons for two others behind the plot. No rockets were found and the plot was in its preliminary stages, police said.
The BBC’s Wyre Davies says, however, that the incident will raise concern about vetting procedures at the consulate, which is situated in one of the most politically sensitive parts of Jerusalem.
East Jerusalem is considered occupied territory under international law. Israel took over the predominantly Arab area in 1967, then annexed it in 1981 and sees it as its exclusive domain.
Israel claims the city as its eternal, undivided capital, while Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of any future Palestinian state.
The international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and most countries maintain embassies in Tel Aviv.
The Foreign Office spokeswoman said the two consulate employees were suspected of trying to obtain weapons for an alleged attack on Teddy Stadium, the home of the Beitar Jerusalem football team.
Israel’s Shin Bet security service has said that two other men were plotting to carry out a rocket or missile attack on the stadium — although it is believed the attempt never got further than the planning stage. Both of these plotters — named as Musa Hamada from the east Jerusalem district of Sur Bahr and his friend, Bassem Omeri, an Israeli citizen from Beit Safafa — are accused of having been operatives of the Islamist militant group Hamas.
Their activities included systematically checking how best to launch a rocket while the stadium was crowded with people during a game, officials said. They also allegedly visited a nearby hillside to survey the area.
The BBC reports that according to Shin Bet, the two began planning the attack after the Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip in December 2009. They also acquired a number of rifles to carry out additional attacks, it added.
Hamada and Omeri, who were arrested in November, were charged on Sunday with being members of a terrorist organization, illegal use of weapons and planning an attack, Shin Bet said.
