France detains teen over threats to Israeli president

French police are also probing death threats made against Israeli athletes participating in the Olympics

French counter-terrorism police have detained a 15-year-old for making threats to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on social media, the newspaper Le Parisien reported on Sunday, citing sources close to the investigation.

The suspect, who resides in the commune of Ivry-sur-Seine just south of Paris, made hateful remarks on X (formerly Twitter) early this week, calling for a “mercy attack” on the Israeli president, the investigators have found.

Anti-terrorism operatives spent several days trying to find the suspect, eventually tracking him down to Isere, near Grenoble, where he has been on vacation. The teenager was taken into custody and has reportedly already admitted to making the threat.

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French cybercrime unit responds to doxxing of Israeli Olympic team – AFP

“It is illusory to believe that since you can hide behind a nickname, you cannot be found,” a source close to the investigation said.

Separately, French authorities have launched an investigation into death threats allegedly received by at least three Israeli athletes participating in the Paris Olympics, local prosecutors said on Sunday.

The alleged threats came after the personal data of a number of athletes was leaked online on Friday. The authorities are currently working to remove the information from the internet, prosecutors added.

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