Post date: Jul 22, 2012 4:50:38 PM
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (JULY 22, 2012) (CH 10) - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday (July 22) reacted to reports in the Sunday Times, according to which Israel has sent Mossad agents to London to try and prevent attacks against Israeli targets during the upcoming Olympic Games.
Asked about a Sunday Times article claiming Israel sees latest attack in Bulgaria as preparation for larger attack on Israel's Olympic delegation, Ehud Barak says alertness high ahead of games.
According to the Sunday Times article, there are estimations in Israel that the recent attack against Israeli tourists in Bulgaria was just a preparation for a much bigger attack in London. The 2012 Olympic Games also mark the 40th anniversary of the killing of 11 Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
The article also mentions that the MI5 and Scotland Yard are "thought" to have raised their threat level regarding the Israeli delegation after the attack in Burgas, in which six people were killed on July 18th.
"There is certainly intelligence and operative alertness ahead of the Olympics. The British security forces, which are very good, are operating in full force and with the aid of intelligence services from around the world, in order to minimize the risk of an attack during the Olympics.
Olympic Games are an attractive location (for attacks), even without concrete information. We have to be ready and alert, because things have happened, we remember Munich. It is not the only event, but surely is the most outstanding one. We must be on alert," Barak answered after being asked about the article during a tour in a military recruitment facility in central Israel.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel's senior security official Amos Gilad denied the Sunday Times report on Israeli radio, saying "Of course Iran and Hezbollah are out to execute attacks, but this is not the way intelligence services operate - by sending tens of agents in search of ghosts."