From the Liveblog of
Saturday, August 24, 2024
France opens terror probe after blast near synagogue; CCTV shows suspect holding Palestinian flag
FRANCE – A suspect caught on a surveillance camera after an explosion that injured a police officer near a synagogue in southern France this morning was brandishing a Palestinian flag, according to a source close to the probe.
Earlier, French authorities said they were treating the blast outside the Beth Yaacov synagogue in the seaside resort of La Grande Motte, near the city of Montpellier, as a potential terror attack.
Incendie devant la synagogue de La Grande-Motte : une image capturée par des caméras de vidéosurveillance – que La Gazette s'est procurée – montre un homme, drapeau palestinien autour de la taille et keffieh sur la tête
+ d'infos : https://t.co/8Z6cGJAcbl pic.twitter.com/s9wAPWypZK— Gazette Live Montpellier (@GazettedeMtp) August 24, 2024
Police say two cars outside the synagogue burst into flames after a gas canister likely exploded inside one of the vehicles. The blast wounded a police officer, though there is no information as to the gravity of the injury.
There was no prayer service ongoing at the time of the incident, according to a police source.
Two doors of the synagogue were damaged in the blast.
French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal says France’s national anti-terror prosecutors have been tasked with probing the incident.
“La Grande Motte’s synagogue was the target of an attack this morning,” Attal says in a post on X. “An antisemitic act. Once again, our Jewish fellow citizens are being targeted.”
La Motte’s mayor, Stephan Rossignol, says CCTV picked up images of an individual setting fire to the cars.
Security around Jewish sites was tightened following the early morning explosion.
