Derogatory graffiti in Arabic was found on an El Al plane shortly before it was scheduled to take off from Milan on Monday.
According to a report in Yediot Aharonot, the anonymous perpetrator managed to infiltrate the cargo hold of the plane, which landed in Milan on Monday morning, and to write "Death to the Jews" on the inside wall.
The graffiti was detected while the luggage was being unloaded in Milan's Malpensa Airport and security forces searched the area to rule out the possibility of bombs.
The plane was then sent on its way after a short delay, and passengers who were on the plane told Yediot that although they had noticed the increased presence of security forces, they had only learned about the incident on Tuesday morning from the paper.
Milan airport officials told the newspaper that it was safe to assume that the graffiti had been written in Israel.
"There are no Arabic speakers in the airport in Milan who could have come in contact with the El-Al plane," the officials said.
The incident marked the second time an El Al plane has been delayed in Milan following the detection of derogatory graffiti.
In response, El Al said that "from the day [the company] was established, security has constituted a supreme value and a foundation stone on which the entire operation of the company, in Israel and abroad, is based. The General Security Services and El Al work to promise the passengers' safety and security and invest all efforts in that matter."
El Al added that it had ordered an investigation of the incident and could not elaborate.
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