Have suspected Hamas members planned attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe? The Federal Prosecutor’s Office believes this is possible. Three suspects are already in custody.
Following the arrests of suspected Hamas members in Berlin and the Netherlands, three suspects are in custody. This was announced by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe. The highest German prosecution accuses them of looking for weapons that should be kept ready for possible attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe.
On Thursday, a total of four suspected members of the Islamist Hamas were arrested in Berlin and Rotterdam, Netherlands. The three suspects from Berlin – the Egyptian Mohamed B. and the Lebanon-born Abdelhamid Al A. and Ibrahim El-R. – were brought before the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe. He executed the arrest warrants.
The fourth man, the Dutchman Nazih R., only comes to Germany later as part of extradition proceedings. According to the Amsterdam public prosecutor’s office, he was brought before the judge and will remain behind bars until his extradition to Germany is heard. All four defendants are accused of membership in a foreign terrorist organization. They are said to have been closely linked to leaders of the military wing of the Islamist Hamas.
The first indications were last summer
According to information from security circles, the men’s activities are not directly related to the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7th. Rather, the first reference to the four men is said to have come from last summer.
According to the authorities’ current knowledge, there were no specific attack targets. In October, the three men living in Berlin set out from Berlin several times in search of the weapons. They were supported by the man arrested in Rotterdam. According to dpa information, the security authorities already had the suspects on their radar before the tip came that they were looking for weapons from abroad.
Further arrests in Denmark
Almost at the same time – also on Thursday – three terror suspects were arrested in Denmark. Two were taken into custody after a detention hearing and one was initially released. Four other people – who had not yet been arrested – were ordered to be remanded in absentia. The accused are suspected of having prepared a terrorist attack. Details of the suspected terrorist plans have not yet been given.
According to consistent media reports, the three arrested in Denmark were two men and a 19-year-old woman. One of the two men, a 29-year-old, was released.
No connection between the arrests
The Danish secret service told the Ritzau news agency that there was no direct connection between the arrests in Germany and those in Denmark. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe said: “We do not comment on investigations in Denmark.”
Carrying out attacks outside of Israel and the Palestinian territories would be a change of strategy for Hamas. This could possibly have its origins in the increased Iranian influence on the military wing of Hamas.
According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany has so far been a place of retreat for the approximately 450 Hamas members living in the federal territory, where they have only attempted to carry out propaganda and collect donations. In order to prevent this from happening, two clubs affiliated with Hamas were banned in 2002 and 2005. At the beginning of November, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) issued a ban on Hamas’s activities, which is intended, for example, to make police measures at rallies easier.
