The Israeli spy agency Mossad collaborated with Brazilian security services and other international agencies to prevent attacks on Jews in Brazil planned by the militant group Hezbollah, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday Benjamin Netanyahu.

Brazil’s federal police said in a statement that they had arrested two people whom they did not identify. on terrorism charges in Sao Paulo. He also carried out searches and arrests in the states of Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Minas Gerais.

The Mossad said that “the terrorist cell (…) was run by Hezbollah to strike Israeli targets and Jews” in a South American country. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group in Lebanon, could not be reached for comment. Not with the Iranian government.

Brazil has a relatively short history of domestic extremism. In 2017, eight Brazilians linked to the Islamic State were jailed for planning attacks during the 2016 Rio Olympics following a tip from the US FBI.

In 2021, the US Treasury Department listed three Brazilians as members of an al-Qaeda-linked network. Washington is also keeping a close eye on the Triple Border region between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, which hosts large Lebanese diaspora and is a base for smuggling groups and organized crime.

The Federal Police operation comes amid growing concerns about global security following attack carried out by Hamas on October 7 against southern Israel and the subsequent bombing of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army.

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Brazilian Jewish leaders said Reuters last month this noticed an increase in anti-Semitic statements on the Internet since the conflict began.

“We are following today’s Federal Police operation with apprehension and concern. Brazil has no history of terrorism and we hope the conflict in the Middle East it cannot be imported here,” said Ricardo Berkienstat, executive president of the Jewish Federation of the State of Sao Paulo (Fisesp).

Hezbollah was created by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. in 1982 to fight Israeli troops invading Lebanon. The powerful, heavily armed group has seats in parliament and government and acts as Iran’s vanguard in Lebanon and the region.

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After the terrorist attack on October 7 Hezbollah clashes with Israeli troops on the borderIt is the deadliest escalation since the 2006 war with Israel.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said in 2019 that planned to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization but this measure was never implemented. Argentina, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Honduras, the United States and most Gulf countries allied to Washington have given it this designation. (Reuters)