German authorities said on Friday that they have arrested two men suspected of plotting a knife attack on worshippers at a synagogue in the southwestern city of Heidelberg, The Associated Press reported.
The suspects, who are 24 and 18 years of age, were detained during separate police operations in the state of Baden-Wuerttember earlier this month, German news agency dpa reported, citing state prosecutors and police.
The pair discussed “the killing of one or more visitors in the attack on the synagogue followed by death as martyrs, whereby the two persons wanted to be shot to death by police,” authorities said in a joint statement quoted by AP.
They could face charges including conspiracy to commit murder.
The two suspects are German citizens, with the 18-year-old also holding Turkish nationality, authorities said. Their names were not released.
The number of antisemitic crimes in Germany has risen sharply since Hamas’ October 7 attack in Israel.
In one incident, a synagogue in the German capital of Berlin was firebombed by two assailants. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime.
In late October, police in the western German city of Essen arrested a man who plotted to attack a pro-Israel demonstration.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)