Four Hamas members suspected of planning terror attacks in Europe were arrested on Thursday by German and Dutch police, federal prosecutors said.
Three of the members, two Lebanese and one Egyptian, have been detained in Germany, with the fourth member, a Dutch national, booked in the Netherlands, according to the Berlin federal prosecutor’s office.
The country’s police did not publish the full names of the suspects, in accordance with their law, identifying them only by their first names and last initials: Abdelhamid Al A, Ibrahim El-R, Mohamed B and Nazih R.
Officials believe the suspect is planning an attack on Jewish Institutions in Europe, which comes amid warnings of an increased risk of violence across the continent and in the US as a result of the Israel-Hamas war.
“The protection of Jews is our priority,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement, touting the vigilance of German and Dutch police. “We use all constitutional means against those who threaten the lives of Jews and the existence of the state of Israel.”
German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said his country had seen an increase in attacks aimed at Jews and institutions since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and killed more than 1,200 people.
Police in Berlin seized evidence from three of the four suspected Hamas members arrested on Thursday. dpa/alliance photo via Getty Images Police walk into the home of one of the suspects accused of planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe. dpa alliance/image via Getty Images
He described the alleged plot by three terrorists in Germany as “shameful and shocking.”
“Therefore we must do everything we can to ensure that the Jews in our country do not have to fear for their safety anymore,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the arrests also came after Dutch police booked three other people suspected of planning different terrorist attacks.
German and Danish officials touted the arrests as Europe seeks to crack down on the threat of terrorism and antisemitism. dpa alliance/image via Getty Images
“Thanks to an intensive and comprehensive intelligence investigation, today Danish security and enforcement [sic] arrested 7 terrorists acting on behalf of the terrorist organization Hamas, and thwarted an attack aimed at killing innocent people on European soil,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement of the arrests in the Netherlands and Germany.
There is no direct connection between the two sets of arrests, the Danish Intelligence Agency told CNN.
The European arrests come just a week after the FBI warned that America faces its highest risk of terrorist attacks in years following the October 7 Hamas invasion.
The risk of terrorism is high in Europe and the US amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Jim Hollander/UPI/Shutterstock
“The threat level has gone to a ‘nother level since October 7,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “I’ve never seen a time where all the threats were raised, all at the same time.”
Although the FBI has yet to find any evidence that Hamas “has the intent or the ability to conduct operations inside the US,” Wray warned that supporters or sympathizers of the terrorist group could launch attacks on the group’s behalf.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
