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Hezbollah operative planning Cyprus attack on Israelis sentenced to six years
A court in Cyprus yesterday sentenced a Hezbollah operative to six years in prison for his role in planning a bomb attack targeting Israeli interests on the island.
26-year-old Hussein Bassam Abdallah, who has both Lebanese and Canadian citizenship was convicted of charges including membership and support for a terrorist organisation and possession of explosives. Following a tip-off in May, Cypriot authorities placed a property in Larnaca under surveillance at which Abdallah was staying. When authorities raided the home, they found almost two tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in 420 boxes in the property’s basement. They also found Abdallah in possession of almost 10,000 Euros in cash, which he admitted was his payment by Hezbollah for his role in the operation.
The three-judge panel in Larnaca said that it took into account Abdallah’s limited role in the plot, in guarding the compound, plus his remorse for his actions. Abdallah had been recruited by Hezbollah’s military wing five years ago, received weapons training and visited Cyprus 10 times since 2012. In passing sentence, Judge Nicolaos Santis said that Abdallah had played his part “so that eventually Hezbollah would be able to harm, through terrorist attacks, Israeli interests in Cyprus.”
Cyprus is a popular holiday destination for Israelis. In March 2013, a Cypriot court found a dual Lebanese-Swedish citizen guilty of helping Hezbollah plan an attack on Israeli tourists on the island. During the trial, the defendant admitted to being a member of Hezbollah since 2007 and said he had staked out locations in Cyprus which were known to be popular with Israeli tourists.
Hezbollah’s determination to target Israeli citizens across the world was most brutally highlighted by an attack which saw a bus bomb in the Bulgarian resort of Burgas kill five Israeli tourists in 2012. A subsequent Bulgarian investigation concluded that Hezbollah was responsible for the attack. Following a request by the UK government, the European Union has since then classified Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organisation.