Earlier in the day, Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that an unidentified person shot a police officer with a crossbow in front of the embassy and was killed by return fire.
"Today there was an attempted terrorist attack near the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade. The embassy is closed and no embassy employees were injured. A local policeman was injured. The circumstances of the incident are being investigated," the ministry said.
Dacic said the incident was being treated as a terrorist attack. Law enforcement officers are trying to determine whether the attacker acted alone, the official added.
"As a safety precaution, we detained several other people who were near police facilities, and we are determining whether they are connected to this case. There is a suspicion that we are talking about people known to the security services, we are talking about the Wahhabi movement, but this is unconfirmed information. We have increased security measures in the city," Dacic noted.
Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic called the incident a "crazy move" and said that Serbian authorities will be able to respond decisively to the threat of terrorism. Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic also condemned the attack and expressed his support for the interior ministry officers.
The injured police officer is conscious and has been taken to the emergency room for surgery to remove the crossbow bolt from his neck. An investigation was launched.