Brazil Foils Hezbollah Plot Against Israeli Targets with Mossad's Help

Three sources informed Reuters that the Brazilian federal police arrested two people on Wednesday in a group suspected of being funded by "Hezbollah," which was allegedly preparing local attacks and seeking to recruit Brazilians. The federal police stated in a report that they arrested two unnamed individuals on terrorism-related charges in São Paulo. The police also conducted searches and seizures in the states of São Paulo, Brasília, and Minas Gerais. The police report did not mention Hezbollah. There has been no contact yet with Hezbollah for comment. Justice Minister Flávio Dino stated at an event in Rio de Janeiro, "The federal police are investigating based on the premise of an existing terrorist network trying to establish itself in Brazil." Ricardo Berkinstat, the executive director of the Jewish Federation in São Paulo, said, "We are following with concern and fear this operation by the federal police today. Brazil does not have a history of terrorism, and we hope that the conflict in the Middle East is not imported here." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office commented on Wednesday that "the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad collaborated with Brazilian security agencies and other international agencies to thwart an attack in Brazil planned by the Lebanese group Hezbollah." The office noted that "the cell is run by Hezbollah to execute an attack on Israeli and Jewish targets in Brazil," adding, "This was a wide network that operated in other countries."