France raises surveillance at Jewish-linked sites after Washington shooting
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The US shooting happened as the victims left an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee.
PHOTO: AFP
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PARIS – France’s Interior Minister told the police on May 22 to “step up surveillance at sites linked to the Jewish community” after a gunman who shouted, “Free Palestine” shot and killed two Israeli embassy staff in Washington
Security measures must be “visible and dissuasive”, France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in a message seen by AFP, calling for police patrols around synagogues, schools, shops and media and cultural events.
Mr Retailleau also requested “additional support” from military units engaged in Operation Sentinelle, in which squads of troops patrol sensitive sites around the country to protect against potential terrorist attacks.
France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community.
The Washington shooting happened as the victims left an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee for young Jewish professionals and the Washington diplomatic community.
The victims were a young couple who planned to get married, according to the Israeli ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron condemned the tragedy as an “anti-Semitic attack” and extended his “thoughts to the families and loved ones of the victims”.
The French Jewish community, one of the largest in the world, has for months been on edge in the face of a growing number of attacks and desecrations of memorials since the Gaza war erupted on Oct 7, 2023. AFP
