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Three arrested near Israeli embassy in Sweden on suspicion of attack plot

“We are unable to comment on the potential motive,” said a police spokeswoman.

Aron Verständig speaks at a pro-Israel rally in Stockholm, Sweden on Aug. 31, 2015. Photo courtesy of the Zionist Federation of Sweden.
Aron Verständig speaks at a pro-Israel rally in Stockholm, Sweden on Aug. 31, 2015. Photo courtesy of the Zionist Federation of Sweden.

Swedish police on Friday confirmed the arrest of three men near the Israeli embassy in Stockholm on suspicion of planning an attack.

The arrests were made close to the embassy, but not inside the compound itself, spokesperson Susanna Rinaldo told Reuters.

“We are unable to comment on the potential motive,” she added.

The suspects are being held for interrogation, according to the report.

In October, Swedish authorities open a probe into an “unusual incident” after gunfire was heard in the vicinity of the embassy.

A firearm and an empty shell casing were found outside the legation, according to TV4 Nyheterna.

In January 2024, an apparent explosive device was found near the Israeli diplomatic mission in the Swedish capital.

The object was found outside the embassy grounds and the national bomb squad was dispatched to investigate, Reuters reported, citing Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

Israeli Ambassador to Sweden Ziv Nevo Kulman confirmed reports of the “attempted attack against the Embassy of Israel in Stockholm and its employees.”

Following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, Israel’s National Security Council warned that “increased efforts have been detected on the part of Iran and its proxies, as well as on the part of Hamas and elements of global jihad, to attack Israeli and Jewish targets.”

Iran is behind a series of terrorist attacks carried out by criminal gangs targeting Israeli embassies in Europe, including in Sweden, the Mossad intelligence agency revealed in 2024.

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One of the soldiers was killed in an incident in which two others were critically injured and an officer was moderately injured.
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“IDF soldiers must stand between Hezbollah and Israeli civilians. We will not wait for the next attack to reach our homes.”
The Jewish state, by contrast, absorbed Holocaust survivors, Jews expelled from Arab states and others who did not maintain their refugee status.