FBI arrests college student over alleged terror plot at New York's Israeli consulate

The Israeli consulate in New York City on Thursday announced that the FBI arrested a college student for allegedly planning to orchestrate a mass casualty terror attack on the consulate. 

The suspect has been identified as 18-year-old Egyptian national Abdullah Ezzeldin Taha Mohamed Hassan, who is a freshman at George Mason University and living in Falls Church, Virginia, according to the Times of Israel.

Hassan allegedly instructed an FBI informant to carry out the attack, and sent him information on how to join the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization and how to create a “martyrdom video,” according to a criminal complaint filed on Monday.

The suspect also allegedly sent the informant, who said that he lived in New York, bomb-making instructions and told them to target a building representing Jews, before settling on the Israeli consulate.

Hassan, who runs multiple social media accounts that feature antisemitic messages, has been charged with distributing information on explosives and weapons of mass destruction, according to the outlet. He was arrested on Tuesday.

Ofir Akunis, Israeli’s consul-general in New York, confirmed the foiled planned attack in a statement to the Times of Israel.

“This attempted attack by terror organizations is an attack on the sovereign soil of the State of Israel in its entirety,” Akunis said in a Thursday statement to The Times of Israel. “It’s proof that terror knows no boundaries and that we must fight it everywhere and every time.”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.