NY Times: Attack Motivated by ‘Christmas-Themed Posters’; CNN: Motivation Was Anger at Israel

(CNSNews) – CNN on Monday cited an unnamed “law enforcement source” as saying that the terrorist who tried to detonate a suicide bomb in New York City was angered by Israel’s “incursion into Gaza.”

“Israel launched airstrikes this weekend against what it said were Hamas targets in Gaza after several rockets were fired out of Gaza toward Israel,” CNN reported. “This came amid widespread protests over President Trump's move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”

While some implied a possible link between the attack and Trump’s Jerusalem decision, other unnamed “law enforcement sources” told other news outlets that the suspect, Akayed Ullah, was driven by other motives, including “decades of violence against Muslims in Gaza, Syria and Iraq,” and “U.S. bombing in ISIS-controlled territory.”

Unnamed “law enforcement officials” cited by NBC News said Ullah decided to detonate his device in a subway passage near the Port Authority bus terminal at Times Square “because he noticed a holiday image there” and was “mindful of ISIS threats timed to Christmas.”

The New York Times said he selected the location for his attack “because of its Christmas-themed posters.”

More spin here