Yzabelle Bostyn
A VALENCIA basketball game has been deemed a high terror risk as hundreds of officers are deployed in the city.
Around 700 police officers will attend the game today, as Valencia Basket takes on Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv.
It comes after Spain has boosted its security measures and counter terrorism efforts in response to rising tensions in the Middle East and an increase in extremism.
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned against an increase in ‘Islamist terrorism’ following the murder of a French teacher last week and the deaths of two Swedish football fans in Belgium on Monday.
Spain’s threat level has remained at four, one below the maximum threat level, since Islamist militant attacks on Paris in June 2015.
But officials now say they are increasing national security within that level.
Although the ministry has not given specific details, the measures will include: “the strengthening of security measures at certain particularly sensitive points throughout the national territory and the increase in counter-terrorist efforts”
The increased measures follow an Israeli military offensive to remove Hamas fighters in the besieged Gaza strip after 1,300 people were killed in an attack on Israeli towns earlier this month.
READ MORE:
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- EU flag taken down in Spain’s Valencia over Israel’s revenge Gaza attacks ‘sanctioned’ by European Commission
- Spain’s foreign minister slams ‘unfriendly gesture’ from Israel after its embassy issues statement criticising stance of ‘some members of the Spanish government’
