Authorities foil plot to firebomb Palestinian activist's NYC home
by Danielle Haynes · UPIMarch 27 (UPI) -- Federal officials arrested a man accused of plotting to firebomb the Brooklyn, N.Y., home of Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Alexander Heifler, 26, faces one count of unlawful possession of destructive devices and one count of making destructive devices. The Hoboken, N.J., man allegedly constructed Molotov cocktails he planned to throw at Kiswani's home.
Kiswani is the co-founder of the group Within Our Lifetime, a New York City-based organization supporting Palestinians.
A complaint from the Justice Department said Heifler was charged as a result of an undercover operation by the New York Police Department. He was arrested Thursday night.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed the NYPD's involvement in the investigation in a post on X.
"Our undercover officer identified and tracked the threat -- first online and then in person -- allowing us to disrupt the planned attack, take Heifler into custody, and ensure that no one was harmed," she wrote.
"This is exactly how our intelligence and counterterrorism operation is designed to work -- a sophisticated apparatus built to detect danger early and prevent violence before it reaches our streets."
Kiswani said she won't "stop speaking up for the people of Palestine" despite the alleged plot.
"For months, Zionist organizations like Beta and politicians like Randy Fine have encouraged violence against my family and me," she wrote on X. "I will have more to say as additional details come to light."