French police have arrested a man suspected of trying to set a synagogue ablaze in the southern French city of la Grande-Motte on Saturday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

About 200 police officers had been hunting for the suspect, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said earlier, adding that the attacker had set fire to several entry doors to the synagogue and several cars nearby.

BFM TV said the suspect was a 33-year-old Algerian. Local police declined to give details.

The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, which was put in charge of the investigation, said early on Sunday that a suspect had been arrested in Nîmes on Saturday evening.

“Before the police could intervene, (the suspect) opened fire on the (police), which returned fire. The man was wounded in the face,” the office said in a statement, adding that two other people were taken into custody.

A policeman was slightly injured when a gas bottle exploded as police secured the site of the attack on Saturday morning, Attal said.

“This is an antisemitic attack. Once more, our Jewish compatriots are targeted,” Attal said on X. “In the face of antisemitism, in the face of violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.”

After visiting the synagogue, Attal said an “absolute tragedy” had been narrowly averted after firefighters and police arrived quickly at the scene.

Local media reported earlier that the suspect had set fire to two cars, one of which contained at least one gas bottle, in the synagogue’s parking area at about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT).

Police protection of synagogues, and Jewish schools and shops would be stepped up across France, the government said.

France, like other countries in Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s retaliatory action in Gaza.

Le Parisien, franceinfo and other media said the suspect had been seen on CCTV shortly before the attack with a Palestinian flag tied round his waist.

“Exploding a gas bottle in a car in front of the Grande Motte synagogue at the expected time of arrival of the faithful: it’s not just attacking a place of worship, it’s an attempt to kill Jews,” Yonathan Arfi, who leads the CRIF, an umbrella organization of French Jewish groups, said on X.

La Grande-Motte is a port and resort city on the French Mediterranean coast.

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i24 News – A Hezbollah official said on Sunday that the jihadist group does not wish that its rocket and drone attack against Israel early in the morning should trigger a regional war and, as far as it is concerned, the “first phase” of the attack is over.

The official said the group took time to retaliate for the assassination of top commander Fuad Shukr last month due to “political considerations,” chiefly the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal for the Gaza Strip.

The terrorist did not elaborate as to why the group decided to launch its attack despite the still-ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

The official stressed the Shiite militia had “worked” to make sure its response to the July 30 assassination would not trigger a full-scale war.

Hezbollah launched over 320 rockets & drones at Israel, responding to the killing of terrorist Fuad Shukr

But before the strike, the IDF preemptively hit thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon

Here is everything you need to know, including the latest safety instructions: pic.twitter.com/FyHik3aeIz

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) August 25, 2024

The post ‘First Phase’ of Attack Against Israel is ‘Over,’ Hezbollah Declares, Amid Fears of Regional War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that efforts to mend ties with Turkey had so far brought no tangible results.

“The initiatives did not yield any results worth mentioning despite the seriousness and genuine keenness of mediators,” Assad said in a speech to the Syrian parliament, referring to conciliation efforts by Russia, Iran and Iraq.

Turkey severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, in which it supported rebels seeking to oust Assad. Assad views the rebels as terrorists.

“The solution is openness,” Assad said. “Restoring a relationship requires first removing the causes that led to its destruction.”

The Syrian president made clear that while he wants Turkish troops to withdraw from Syria, that was not a precondition for talks.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier in July he would extend an invitation to Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore relations.

A Turkish newspaper earlier reported Erdogan and Assad could meet in August, but a Turkish diplomat denied the report.

Russia has been trying to facilitate a meeting between the two leaders in an effort to restore ties. Iraq also said in July that it may seek to try to bring the two leaders together.

The post Syrian President Says Efforts to Restore Ties with Turkey Have Yielded No Results first appeared on Algemeiner.com.