Two Ottawa minors facing terrorism charges were allegedly plotting an attack on a pro-Israel rally on Parliament Hill before their arrests, according to a media report.
The second youth, arrested in February, was also charged with conspiring to commit murder at the direction of, or in association with, a terrorist group, as well as charges for knowingly facilitating terrorist activities by distributing instructional material and propaganda and attempting to acquire a prohibited firearm.
An application by federal lawyers to withhold sensitive national security information from the youths’ trials included the claim that a pro-Israel rally was the target of the accused.
“They are alleged to have formed a plan last fall to violently attack Jewish persons in Ottawa, possibly through the detonation of an explosive device at a pro-Israel rally,” the Department of Justice said, as cited by Global News.
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One of the accused reportedly faces charges of possessing acetone, an oxidizer, and metal ball bearings commonly used in homemade bombs.
The plot was allegedly linked to ISIS, which is also known as Daesh, and was “possibly accelerated” by the Hamas attack on Israel, according to the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre, a federal organization responsible for assessing terrorism threats to Canada.
“Although radicalization of these individuals reportedly began prior to the October 2023 Hamas attack, at least one of the individuals was reportedly in contact with DAESH overseas and the arrests occurred during a period of DAESH calls to violence in response to the conflict,” the centre said, as reported by Global.
Details of the case comes amid growing anti-Semitic violence in Canada following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel last October, including bomb threats and gunfire targeting Jewish schools and incendiary devices aimed at synagogues.
“The suspected terrorists have ties to ISIS, and this is now the third instance of a terror plot against the Jewish community with ties to this terrorist organization. It is becoming increasingly clear that Canada is a high priority target for ISIS inspired terrorists,” the MPs wrote.
Noé Chartier contributed to this report.
