An Egyptian man living in Virginia who was slated to be deported has been charged with planning an attack on the Israeli consulate in New York City.

Abdullah Azz al-Din Taha Muhammad Hassan allegedly provided bomb-making instructions and plans on how to attack the Manhattan consulate to an undercover FBI source, according to court documents. He was arrested Tuesday, the FBI told Fox News Digital. 

Hassan is charged with distribution of information relating to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction in furtherance of the commission of a federal crime. 

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“The FBI’s New York Office wants to reassure our Jewish community here in New York that our office — along with our law enforcement partners — remains vigilant in our efforts to identify, investigate and disrupt potential threats to our community, using every tool at our disposal to do so. As always, we urge all community members to report suspicious activity to law enforcement and call 911 in cases of imminent violence or threats to life,” the FBI said in a statement. 

“We will continue working to ensure our communities remain safe places for all, and we thank the public for their continued trust and partnership.” 

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Hassan caught the FBI’s attention after the Fairfax County Police Department informed federal authorities that a tipster alerted police about his social media posts on X. The tipster said the account engaged in “radical and terrorist-leaning behavior.”

In several posts, Hassan praised the Islamic State terror group and other radical figures, federal prosecutors said. In August, he began messaging with an FBI confidential source whom he believed he recruited to conduct a “mass casualty attack,” authorities said. 

Demonstrators attend an “emergency rally for Gaza” outside the Israeli Consulate in New York City, Oct. 9, 2023. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

Over several weeks, Hassan directed the informant on how to make a bomb, acquire weapons and how to make a “martyrdom video,” authorities said. In November, he allegedly selected the Consulate General of Israel as the target of the attack, saying it would be easier to commit an attack using small arms and be “martyred” by the police.

He believed New York would be “a gold mine of targets” for an attack, prosecutors said. As the pair planned the attack, Hassan also allegedly told him to book flights to countries without extradition agreements with the United States. During the attack, Hassan said the source could either murder people at the consulate with an assault rifle or detonate an explosive vest while standing in a group of targets, court documents state.

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Hassan also asked for the source to livestream the attack so he could watch it in real time, authorities said. 

In a statement, Jonathan Harounoff, the international spokesperson for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, said the Jewish state “will not cower to terror.”

“We will not be silent in the face of hate and violence,” he said. “We will not stop in our pursuit of justice and peace. We will continue in our fight to return all 100 of our hostages still being held in Hamas terror tunnels in Gaza.”

Sara Netanyahu and Ofir Akunis, consul general of Israel, attend Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the 79th session of the General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters.  (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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Ofir Akunis, Israel’s consul general in New York, expressed gratitude to authorities for thwarting the alleged attack. 

“This attempted attack by terror organizations is an attack on the sovereign soil of the State of Israel in its entirety,” he wrote on X. “It’s proof that terror knows no boundaries and that we must fight it everywhere and every time. The threat it poses to the western world and its values must be fought together by all western democracies alike. Together we will prevail.”

Two top 10 teams will be in historic Gallagher-Iba Arena as the #6 Hokies try to slow down the red hot #3 Cowboys in Stillwater, Oklahoma. 

Both teams are undefeated as Oklahoma State is currently 5-0 while Virginia Tech is 3-0. The two programs also wrestled at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational earlier this month. The Cowboys ran away with the team trophy in Vegas, placing first by a margin of 77 points, while Virginia Tech placed fourth. 

Tonight’s matchup is shaping up to be one of the most competitive duals of the first semester. We’ll keep you informed with live updates of the contest as they happen in real time!

Projected Lineups

125: #2 Troy Spratley, OSU vs #4 Eddie Ventresca, VT

133: #18 Reece Witcraft, OSU vs #12 Connor McGonagle, VT

141: #4 Tagen Jamison, OSU vs #12 Sam Latona, VT

149: #15 Carter Young, OSU vs #1 Caleb Henson, VT

157: #14 Caleb Fish, OSU vs #13 Rafael Hipolito, VT

165: #6 Cameron Amine, OSU vs #21 Mac Church, VT

174: #3 Dean Hamiti, OSU vs #4 Lennox Wolak, VT

184: #3 Dustin Plott, OSU vs #20 TJ Stewart, VT

197: #12 Luke Surber, OSU vs #10 Andy Smith, VT

285: #3 Wyatt Hendrickson, OSU vs #15 Jim Mullen, VT

In Wednesday’s ACC Action, Virginia nearly upset Memphis, going down 64-62, and Georgia Tech beat the dreaded UMBC Retrievers, 92-81.

Virginia has had a tough time since Tony Bennett shocked the basketball world by retiring just prior to the season.

Virginia really didn’t shoot all that well – offensive specialist Isaac McKneely was just 2-7 and hit only one of his four three point attempts. Elijah Saunders led the way with 15 points and Taine Murray had a surprising game off the bench with 14.

Virginia was up 30-21 at the half and it looked like Bennett Ball was back.

But it wasn’t.

Memphis threw out a full-court press to start the second half and started turning over the ‘Hoos. PJ Haggerty had 21 points in the second half.

Virginia still had a chance to win but flubbed a key possession late when Dai Dai Ames couldn’t work a drive.

Georgia Tech fell behind 11-2 to UMBC and Damon Stoudamire quickly called timeout to right the ship. It worked: Tech took the lead back at 13-11 at the 14:13 mark and never looked back. The Yellow Jackets were up 53-41 at the half and while the Retrievers pulled closer, it was over.

Baye Ndongo and Naithan George, who are keys for this team, got back on track. Ndongo finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.

For his part, George had 18 points and eight assists.

Stoudamire tweaked his lineup a bit and started two sons of outstanding players at other schools: Ryan Mutombo, son of the late Dikembe, started and had six points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Jaeden Mustaf, son of former Maryland star Jerrod, has been coming on fast for the Yellow Jackets. He had 15 points, five assists, five rebounds and one steal.

It’s too early to know how well the tweaks will work but we’ll get a better idea soon as Duke visits Hotlanta Saturday.

That’ll be a busy day and we’ll get to it soon.