The report on the assassination attempt first surfaced in Kuwait’s Al-Jarida news site which quoted an “anonymous well-placed source” that claimed that the Kenyan security forces ordered a change in the route taken by Netanyahu and his delegation from Nairobi airport to their hotel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday denied reports of an attempt on his life in Kenya during his African tour this week.
Netanyahu said he knew “nothing” of an assassination attempt and said he was learning about it for the first time during a press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa.
“The answer is we know nothing about it because there is nothing in it,” Netanyahu said.
He made the remarks in response to a reporter’s question.
Earlier on, Netanyahu’s office dismissed the reports as “absolute nonsense.”
The Israeli prime minister is protected by heavy security in Israel and abroad, given high threats against Israeli targets around the world.
The report on the assassination attempt first surfaced in Kuwait’s Al-Jarida news site which quoted an “anonymous well-placed source” that claimed that the Kenyan security forces ordered a change in the route taken by Netanyahu and his delegation from Nairobi airport to their hotel on Tuesday, moments before they left the airport.
The report claims that an explosive device was found on the original route, and two suspects were arrested. The Kenyan authorities had placed a gag order on further details of the alleged incident, Al-Jareeda reported.
The Kuwaiti publication has published fantastic stories in the past.
Netanyahu’s historic four-nation Africa visit this week is the first to sub-Saharan Africa by a sitting Israeli prime minister in nearly three decades. He has visited Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while pursuing closer security and other ties with African nations.
In exchange for its expertise in security and other fields, Israel also wants African states to support it at the United Nations.
By: AP and United with Israel Staff