(JTA) — A knife-wielding man suspected of planning an attack against Israeli diplomats in Brussels was arrested.
Police in Uccle, the Brussels suburb where the Israeli Embassy is located, on Tuesday confirmed the Oct. 17 arrest of the man, who is thought to have tried to enter the embassy while carrying a concealed knife, RTL reported.
Security personnel from the embassy handed over the suspect to local police after discovering the knife in a security check. The suspect was not named but the French-language Jewish news site lemondejuif.info reported that he had converted to Islam.
He was placed in a psychiatric institution for observation after displaying erratic behavior while in custody, RTL reported.
Later the same day, police detained an Iranian national on suspicion that he gathered intelligence on the embassy. The man, who also was not named, was released shortly afterward, RTL reported.
Police told RTL there was no evidence linking the Iranian to the man who allegedly tried to conceal the knife.
