Israel’s National Security Council has issued a travel warning to citizens planning to visit Paris to attend the Olympics, warning of terrorist threats and possible protests targeting Israeli athletes.
The message came as a video circulated online purporting to be from a Palestinian terrorist group, featuring a direct threat to the Olympic Games.
The National Security Council message said:
1. The Olympic Games will take place in France between July 26 and August 11, 2024, and the Paralympic Games will take place in France between August 28 and September 8, 2024.
2. 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 (potential for extensive international media coverage). In this spirit, in the last few months, Global Jihad organizations, and especially the Islamic State, have been calling for carrying out terrorist attacks against various targets, including Israeli and Jewish targets, during the Olympic Games.
3. Local security forces have recently apprehended several terrorists who have been planning to carry out terrorist attacks during the Olympic Games:
- On April 25, 2024, a 16-year-old supporter of the Islamic State was reported to have been arrested for planning to carry out a terrorist attack by detonating an explosive belt during the Olympic Games
- On May 31, 2024, an Islamic State militant (an 18-year-old Chechen) was arrested for planning a terrorist attack during the Olympic Games.
4. It should be noted that for several years, and all the more since the beginning of the Swords of Iron War, various terrorist organizations and mostly Global Jihad groups, Hamas, and Shiite terrorist organizations (Iran and Hezbollah), are working relentlessly to harm Israelis and Jews in Israel and abroad. Since the beginning of the war, dozens of attempted attacks against Israelis around the world have been thwarted. It is our understanding that at least some of these organizations are planning to also attack Israeli/Jewish targets around the Olympic Games in France.
5. It is also highly likely that demonstrations and protests will take place during the Games, targeting Israelis and the Israeli delegation. We recommend that you stay away from such areas of friction and demonstrations, which could escalate and become violent.
6. French security forces are accordingly preparing extensively to secure the Olympic Games and their participants. However, we remind you that there is a Level 2 (potential threat) travel alert for France, as well as for other countries in Europe and around the world, and we recommend taking increased precautionary measures in these countries. Note that this message should not be seen as raising the existing threat level at this time.
7. In order to improve the response for Israelis visiting France during the Olympic Games, we recommend downloading the Home Front Command application so that you receive updates and messages from the NSC in real time, if such updates are needed or events necessitate them.
8. To download the application, please go to:
- For iPhones (Apple iOS): https://apps.apple.com/il/app/israel-home-front-command/id1542010719
- For Android devices: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alert.meserhadash
9. You can see all the travel warnings on the NSC website (www.nsc.gov.il), and you can call the NSC with any questions you have (+972-2-666-7444).
Israeli athletes were targeted by Palestinian terrorists in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany. Eleven Israeli athletes were murdered and one German police officer was also killed.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will lead the Israeli delegation in Paris. Some athletes will be far away due to the location of their events: Israeli surfing sensation Anat Lelior, for example, will be competing in Tahiti.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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