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"Urges authorities to declare state of emergency equipping law enforcement to take necessary measures to outlaw a clear and present danger to all French citizens - Christian, Jewish and Muslim"

Paris 

The Director for International Relations of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, Dr. Shimon Samuels, has raised an alarm at the threats made by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, spokesman of the terrorist group that last week attacked the Algerian gas installation at In Amenas.

In an interview with the journal Paris Match, Belmokhtar claimed to be speaking by telephone on behalf of his leader, the Mauritanian Salafist, Hacen Ould Khalil, aka Joulaybib, whom he quoted as "threatening to
commit new attacks against France, in which the Crusaders and the Zionist Jews will pay for its aggressions in the north of Mali," adding, "I hope that France realizes that there will will be dozens of Mohamed Merahs and Khaled Keikals on a Jewish school in Villeurbanne," stressing that "the attack in In Amenas is merely the beginning."

Samuels noted,"This is a clear sign that native-born sleeper cells in France are directly linked with terrorist groups, such as Al-Qaeda, based in the Middle East and North Africa"..."the threat is no longer limited to local 'lone wolves', but elements from France trained in Pakistan, the Horn of Africa and currently in Syria. Once repatriated to France, they are remotely controlled by their mentors in the 'lands of Jihad'," he added.

The Wiesenthal Centre joined its French partner, the BNVCA (the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Antisemitism) in urging the authorities "to declare a state of emergency equipping law enforcement to take necessary measures to outlaw a clear and present danger to all French citizens -
Christian, Jewish and Muslim."

For further information please contact Dr. Shimon Samuels+33(0)609770158, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino)

M. Shimon Samuels, directeur des Relations internationales du Centre Simon-Wiesenthal, entend sonner l’alerte contre les menaces proférées par Mokhtar Belmokhtar, porte-parole du groupe terroriste qui a attaqué les installations de gaz d’In Amenas, en Algérie, la semaine dernière.

>Dans une interview téléphonique qu’il a accordée au magazine Paris Match, Belmokhtar a annoncé s’exprimer au nom de son supérieur, le djihadiste mauritanien

M. Samuels constate que « ces événements révèlent clairement que des cellules dormantes nées en France sont directement liées à des groupes terroristes tels qu’Al-Qaïda ; ces groupes ont leurs bases au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord ». Il insiste sur le fait que « cette menace ne se limite plus à des “loups solitaires” locaux mais à des éléments vivant en France et entraînés au Pakistan, dans la corne de l’Afrique et à présent en Syrie. Une fois rapatriés en France, ces hommes sont contrôlés à distance par leurs mentors aux mains du Djihad.»

Le Centre Simon-Wiesenthal se joint à son partenaire français, le BNVCA (Bureau national de vigilance contre l’antisémitisme), pour enjoindre les autorités « à déclarer l’état d’urgence afin de renforcer la loi et de prendre les mesures nécessaires pour écarter ce danger qui menace bel et bien tous les citoyens français – chrétiens, juifs et musulmans». Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez contacter le M. Shimon Samuels au +33 (0) 609 77 01 58.