Belgian Intelligence: Iran Behind Attacks Targeting Jewish Sites

Brussels - Afaq News - The head of the Terrorism Threat Assessment Unit in Belgium, Geert Verkaeren, stated that two attacks targeting Jewish sites in the country were carried out after receiving instructions from Iran, aimed at targeting Jewish sites around the world, noting that the incidents were part of a coordinated campaign, not just separate acts of vandalism.

Verkaeren explained, in an interview with the French-speaking network "RTBF" on Friday evening, that Belgian authorities detected a peak in activity attributed to Iran within the country in March.

In March, an explosive device detonated outside a Jewish synagogue in the city of Liège, and in the same week, a car was set on fire in the middle of the Jewish neighborhood in the city of Antwerp, resulting in its complete destruction. The incidents did not result in any injuries.

Verkaeren added that the Belgian investigation is taking place amid cross-border links, noting that the events in Belgium occurred simultaneously with a series of plots in the Netherlands, where intelligence agencies managed to thwart several operations that were being planned in parallel.

In one of the thwarted cases, there was a plan to carry out an attack using an explosive device at a synagogue in the Dutch city of Hemstede.

According to the Belgian official, the "national terrorist threat level in Belgium is at level three out of four, which is classified as 'serious'.

This level has been in effect since a deadly shooting incident that occurred in Brussels in October 2023, which resulted in the deaths of Swedish football fans.

Ferkauerten pointed out that the recent decline in the country's public threat reports did not prevent changes in the landscape following the geopolitical developments that followed the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7 and the war in Gaza, which, according to him, led to changes in the data related to threats within the country.

These statements come at a time when Belgian authorities continue to investigate the attacks that targeted Jewish sites, amid security concerns about coordinated cross-border activity.