Security stepped up at Israeli embassies

Security at Israeli embassies abroad has been enhanced amid Hezbollah threats to target Israeli interests, the Foreign Ministry said. Four Israeli embassies have been asked to shut down and diplomats advised to remain in their homes due to the threats stemming from the third anniversary marking the death of Hezbollah henchman Imad Mughniya, killed in a Damascus car bomb in February 2008. A statement released by the foreign ministry said a number of "irregular incidents" have been noticed recently around a number of Israeli diplomatic missions abroad. "At this point we think there is a threat against those locations, and it is being dealt with," the statement said. The ministry did not identify the embassies in question. The four embassies did not open as usual on Monday. On Friday the National Security Council's counter-terrorism bureau noted that the warning against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad had increased. It referred to 8 countries including Egypt, Turkey, Georgia Armenia, the Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania and Venezuela.