PARIS: French authorities have launched an investigation after Olivier Pardo, a lawyer representing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed there was a contract on his life.
The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed the probe on Monday following Pardo’s allegations.
A source close to the case revealed that Pardo informed investigators that Rudy Terranova, a former convict, had told him on July 16 about being approached to assassinate the lawyer.
The information was first reported by French newspaper Le Parisien.
Terranova allegedly stated that members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a key ally of Iran, had contacted him during a trip to Senegal to carry out the hit.
The militants reportedly targeted Pardo due to his legal defense of Netanyahu, who has faced an ICC arrest warrant since November 2024 over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Pardo told AFP he remained calm, acknowledging that defending controversial figures comes with risks.
“I am confident that the judiciary will determine whether this is a real or a phantom menace,“ he said.
The lawyer also represents high-profile French politicians, including far-right leader Eric Zemmour.
Le Parisien reported that Terranova was taken into custody in late July, though AFP could not independently verify this.
Terranova, a former gang member, was convicted in 2004 for violence linked to Islamist radicalism.
He later worked as a police informant but was suspected of involvement in a 2007 murder attempt on another lawyer, Karim Achoui, though he was acquitted. – AFP
