The Israeli embassy has asked the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) to step up safety measures for tourists on Rambutri and Khao San roads until Tuesday after an alleged terrorist plot to attack Israelis in the area was foiled.
MPB chief Kamronwit Thoopkrachang said yesterday he had received a letter from the embassy asking for extra protection for tourists staying on the popular backpacker roads in Bangkok's Phra Nakhon district.
The letter was sent in response to the arrest of two suspected terrorists in Bangkok at the beginning of Songkran, which coincides with the Jewish Passover.
The pair are accused of planning attacks on Israeli tourists on Khao San Road to coincide with the two festivals, and of having close ties to Hezbollah.
Both Israel and the United States list Hezbollah as an international terrorist group. Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit said the embassy's Office of the Police Attache had provided police with further “useful information” on the two men.
He said the embassy told police that Hezbollah terrorists were planning to carry out attacks at six locations in Bangkok during Passover.
The embassy also thanked the MPB for its arrest of the two men, identified as French-Lebanese national Daoud Farhat and Lebanese-Filipino national Youssef Ayad.
Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit has assigned his deputy Pol Maj Gen Thitirat Nongharnpitak to oversee increased safety measures for Israeli people in Bangkok.
Pol Maj Gen Thitirat said additional plain-clothes and uniformed police officers had been deployed to Khao San Road and neighbouring areas, where the majority of Israeli visitors to the capital stay.
He said many tourists spend Passover in the backpacker district, where they gather at a synagogue to pray and sing, and visit Jewish restaurants and guest houses.
Pol Maj Gen Thitirat added that a number of Israeli tourists had bought tour packages for a holiday in Thailand, including trips to Bangkok, the North and the South of the country.
He said plain-clothes police officers have been ordered to seek out intelligence about planned attacks on Israeli tourists, while police in uniform would be keeping an eye on anyone behaving suspiciously.
Immigration Bureau chief Phanu Kerdlarppol yesterday revealed that police are yet to press criminal charges against the two suspected terrorists, since there is no firm evidence linking them with any criminal activities in Thailand.
Pol Lt Gen Phanu said police found no explosive substances during a search on Friday of a Rayong property where the two suspects had been staying, but retrieved salt, nail polish, a soil-digging machine and acid.
The Internal Security Operations Command said the pair were arrested at hotels on Sukhumvit Soi 4, better known as Soi Nana, after Israel alerted Thai authorities to the alleged plan to attack its citizens.
Mr Farhat holds a French passport, while Mr Ayad holds a Philippines passport. Both travelled to Thailand from the countries where their passports originated.
According to their passports, they were born in Lebanon.
Mr Farhat and Mr Ayad are listed on Stop910.com, a mysterious website claiming to be associated with a Western intelligence organisation that offers cash rewards for information about suspected Hezbollah operators in Asia.
Immigration police said a third suspect, Bilal Bahsoun, may not have actually entered Thailand.