French authorities arrested a 15-year-old on suspicion of threatening Israeli President Isaac Herzog online.
The suspect—identified as a resident of the Ivry-sur-Seine on Paris’s southern outskirts who lived with his parents—had anonymously called for a terrorist attack on the Israeli head of state, Le Parisien reported on Sunday.
The teenager was apprehended by police officers on Saturday while on a family vacation in the Alpine region of Isère, the newspaper reported.
In light of his clean criminal record, the suspect will be ordered to undergo a mandatory “citizenship course,” prosecutors said.
This course, which can last up to one month, aims to remind attendees of the “Republican values of tolerance and respect for the dignity of the human being and to make them aware of their criminal and civil liability, together with the duties that stem from life in society.”
Herzog traveled to France on Wednesday alongside Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar to attend the 2024 Olympic Games.
Herzog was unable to immediately deplane at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport on Wednesday due to an unspecified “security concern,” a spokesperson for the head of state confirmed to JNS last week.
“They were held up for 40 minutes due to a security concern. The president and his delegation have now disembarked and resumed the schedule as planned,” the spokesperson said.
The incident reportedly involved a suspicious individual who was spotted on a nearby rooftop as Herzog’s airplane touched down.
Ahead of the delegation’s departure for France, Herzog noted, “We are in the midst of a difficult and painful war, which is also reflected on the international stage. At this time, it is especially important for the State of Israel to take our place resolutely and appear on every global stage, and particularly on such an important stage as the Olympics.”
He continued, “Our determination to hold our heads high, despite the pain we endure, and in defiance of terror and hatred, to stand firm in our right—as any sovereign nation—to participate in the Games and do so with a high profile, with honor and great pride, as an expression of the resilient and inspiring Israeli spirit.”
Israel’s National Security Council has warned citizens planning to attend the Olympic Games (July 26-Aug. 11) and Paralympic Games (Aug. 28-Sept. 8) to avoid “areas of friction” to protect their safety.
“International events like these tend to be desirable targets for threats and attacks by terrorist groups, given the considerable media attention that a ‘successful’ terrorist attack at an Olympic event would receive,” the National Security Council said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Israel’s Olympic delegation: Will focus on sports, not hateful threats
The Olympic Committee of Israel (OCI) responded on Monday to threats against its athletes participating in the Paris games, saying that it will focus on sports and not hate.
On Sunday, the Paris prosecutor’s office announced that France had opened an investigation into death threats against three Israeli athletes following threatening emails sent to the Olympic delegation.
“Unfortunately, a wave of hate and threats is taking place against our athletes,” the OCI statement read.
“Our response will be given on the sporting field, and the Israeli delegation will continue to represent Israeli and Olympic values with pride, dedication and fairness,” the OCI added, while thanking Israeli and French authorities for “working tirelessly to ensure our safety.”
France’s cybercrime unit is also investigating the release of Israeli athletes’ personal data on social media on Friday and seeking to have it removed, the prosecutor’s office said. There is no link between the illegal leak and the threats.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz sent a message to French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné on July 25, one day before the launch of the Olympic Games in Paris, warning of an Iranian threat to Israeli athletes.
Israel’s 88-strong delegation is receiving the largest security protection operation in Israeli Olympics history, including the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and French security forces.
