An Egyptian living in Virginia who was due to be deported has been charged with planning an attack at the Israeli Consulate in New York City.
According to court documents, Abdullah Azz al-Din Taha Muhammad Hassan gave an undercover FBI source bomb-making instructions and plans to attack the consulate in Manhattan. He was arrested on Tuesday, the FBI told Fox News Digital.
Hassan is accused of disseminating information about explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction in furtherance of the commission of a federal crime.
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On the opposite side of a pro-Palestinian protest area, a group of pro-Israel protesters with Israeli flags gathered in front of the Israeli Consulate General in New York City. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“The New York office of the FBI wants to reassure our Jewish community here new York That our office – along with our law enforcement partners – remains vigilant in our efforts to identify, investigate and prevent potential threats to our community, using all tools at our disposal to accomplish this. As always, we urge all community members to report suspicious activity to law enforcement and to call 911 if there is imminent violence or danger to life,” the FBI said in a statement.
“We will continue to work to ensure our communities remain safe places for everyone, and we thank the public for their continued trust and partnership.”
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Hassan came to the attention of the FBI after Fairfax County police notified federal authorities that a tipster tipped off police about his social media posts
In several posts, Hassan praised the Islamic State terrorist group and other radical figures, federal prosecutors said. In August he started communicating with one Confidential FBI source He believed he had recruited him to carry out a “mass casualty attack,” authorities said.
Protesters take part in an “Emergency Rally for Gaza” in front of the Israeli Consulate in New York City on October 9, 2023. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)
Over several weeks, Hassan explained to the informant how to make a bomb, obtain weapons and make a “martyrdom video,” authorities said. In November, he reportedly chose the Israeli Consulate General as the target of the attack, saying it was easier to commit an attack with small arms and be “martyred” by police.
He believed New York was “a goldmine of targets” for an attack, prosecutors said. While the pair were planning the attack, Hassan also allegedly directed them to book flights to countries without extradition treaties with the United States. During the attack, Hassan said the source could either murder people at the consulate with an assault rifle or detonate an explosive vest while standing in a group of targets, court documents said.
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Hassan also asked about the source for the livestream the attack so he could see it in real time, authorities said.
In a statement, Jonathan Harounoff, international spokesman for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, said the Jewish state “will not bow to terror.”
“We will not remain silent in the face of hatred and violence,” he said. “We will not stop in our pursuit of justice and peace. We will continue our fight for the return of all 100 of our hostages still held in Hamas’ terror tunnels.” in the Gaza Strip.”
Sara Netanyahu and Ofir Akunis, Consul General of Israel, attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the 79th session of the General Assembly at the UN headquarters. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Ofir Akunis, Israel’s consul general in New York, thanked authorities for preventing the alleged attack.
“This attempted attack by terrorist organizations is an attack on the sovereign soil of the State of Israel in its entirety,” he wrote on The threat.” It poses itself to the Western world and its values must be fought together by all Western democracies.
