A man approached Israel’s embassy in Romania on Monday, and while going through a security inspection pulled out a Molotov cocktail and threw it at the door leading into the lobby, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.
Romanian security forces apprehended the man — apparently of Syrian origin — immediately, the ministry said. He is being questioned by local law enforcement.
A 34-year-old man was apprehended by anti-terrorism officers from the Romanian Intelligence Service before Bucharest police. They added the suspect allegedly also tried to set himself on fire.
A police spokesperson told local news channel Digi24 that the incident was motivated by personal grievances and not by the international context of Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli embassy confirmed the incident in an official statement, saying that when security officials approached the suspect “he took out a Molotov cocktail, lit it and threw it toward the entrance door to the lobby of the building.”
Israel’s ambassador to Romania, Reuven Azar, condemned the incident in a video statement released Monday, saying that “terrorism knows no borders.” He called the suspect a “violent extremist” who is being interrogated by Romanian police.
The embassy thanked the Romanian security and police forces for their “swift and efficient response.” Police said that investigations are underway to establish what happened.
