U.S. Acknowledges Al Qaeda Plot Against American Embassy in Tel Aviv

On January 22nd U.S. State Department officials acknowledged they were following Israel’s arrest of two al Qaeda recruits with Jerusalem residency.

The two men were “apprehended in a plot to target the… American embassy in Tel Aviv” and Israel’s domestic defensive agency Shin Bet said the matter “had been a [topic] of discussion between U.S. and Israel for some time.”

According to the Jerusalem Post, the U.S. State Department said they have been “closely following the situation” and added, “The U.S embassy routinely employs a range of measures to safeguard U.S. citizens and all of our employees and their dependents. We have a high degree of confidence in our own security staff and in the Israeli security forces.”

State Department spokesman Marie Harf said targets beyond the U.S. embassy “were involved as well in the threat.”

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.