- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting on October 31, 2010 at his Jerusalem offices during which he announced that he will travel to the United States next week to discuss security issues, following the discovery of explosive-laden packages from Yemen that were addressed to synagogues in Chicago. (Photo : JIM HOLLANDER/AFP/Getty Images)
October 31, 2010 (KATAKAMI / IsraelNationalNews.com) --- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indirectly mentioned, in a statement opening Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting, the suspected attempt by Yemeni terrorists to strike Chicago synagogues by sending explosive packages via FedEx .
“It matters not whether the attempt is to strike a synagogue in Chicago, a train station in Madrid, or [targets] in Mumbai or Bali,” Netanyahu said. “We are facing a terror wave that is growing, both in terms of the weapons it uses and in terms of trends and chutzpah vis-a-vis the world,” he said.
Each of the bombs reportedly contained some 400 grams of PETN, a highly explosive substance.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the plot “has the hallmarks of al-Qaeda” and added: “They are constantly trying things to test our system.”
The bombs, packed in toner cartridges and designed to be detonated by a cell phone, were connected via electric circuit to a mobile phone chip tucked into a printer.
The US has recently warned of an increased Al Qaeda threat in Europe. The terror organization was reported last year to be "building an army" of thousands in Yemen.
On Friday, the Prime MInister criticized the UNESCO vote labelling Rachel's Tomb a mosque and calling for it and the Cave of the Patriarchs to be removed from Israel's Heritage Site list.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)
