Posted on 11/19/2003 1:30:12 PM PST by yonif
Terrorists intend to carry out attacks against Israeli and Western targets in South Africa, and are also working to organize attacks in Southeast Asia, North Africa, western Europe and Turkey, Minister Gideon Ezra warned in the Knesset on Wednesday.
According to the latest figures from the Absorption Ministry, there are about 15,000 Israelis living in South Africa.
As for Jewish communities, Ezra emphasized that the government does not have any "immediate concrete warnings" about plans for attacks.
Ezra was responding to a parliamentary query from Likud MK Yehiel Hazan. He asked Ezra to detail the form of security for Jewish institutions abroad.
He said local authorities are responsible in general for the security of the Jewish institutions, although the communities also maintain their own security in coordination with the local governments. Ezra said the level of protection is not uniform, but depends on the level of threat and the interests of the local community. As for the attack in Istanbul, Ezra said because of the security and physical defenses in place, a much larger disaster was prevented.
Intelligence also varies from country to country, Ezra noted.
He said Israel's security officials update foreign countries on terrorist threats on the Jewish communities.
Labor MK Ophir Pines-Paz said the Israeli government should take responsibility for protecting Jews abroad. He said Israel has the expertise and capability to provide security in places where local governments neglect the Jewish community. "The Jewish people is paying a high price today for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Pines- Paz said.
However, Ezra disputed Pines-Paz's theory, saying that "it has no basis in reality." He said, for example, that there is no connection between and attack on a school in Paris and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Jenin or Nablus.
If only the Israeli government would have acted.
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