Attacks on Jewish institutions? Arrests in Berlin

Hamas - Attacks on Jewish institutions? Arrests in Berlin

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has arrested four suspected members of the Islamist Hamas in Berlin and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. As the highest German prosecution authority announced on Thursday in Karlsruhe, they were allegedly looking for weapons that were to be kept ready for possible attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe. The arrests were made in cooperation with Dutch investigative authorities, it said.

According to a statement, three men were arrested in Berlin: Egyptian national Mohamed B., Dutch national Nazih R. and Lebanese-born Abdelhamid Al A.. The eldest of the alleged conspirators, Ibrahim El-R., who was born in Lebanon in 1967, was provisionally arrested by the police in Rotterdam.

The suspects are accused of membership of a foreign terrorist organization. They are said to have had "close ties to leaders" of the military wing of Hamas.

From spring 2023 at the latest, one of the suspects based in Berlin was involved in locating an underground weapons depot in Europe on behalf of Hamas, which the organization had set up there in the past. He had received his instructions for this from Hamas leaders in Lebanon, according to the federal prosecutor's office.

The weapons were to be brought to Berlin and kept ready for possible attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe. As far as the authorities know, there were no specific targets for the attacks. In October, the three men living in Berlin had set off several times from Berlin in search of the weapons. They were supported by the man who has now been arrested in Rotterdam.

According to information from security circles, the men's activities are not directly connected to the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7. Rather, the first reference to the four men is said to date back to last summer.

If the suspicion that the men were planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe as members of Hamas is confirmed, this would be a first. Up to now, according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany has been a place of retreat for the 450 or so Hamas members based in Germany, where at most they have attempted to conduct propaganda and collect donations. In order to prevent this as well, two Hamas-affiliated associations were banned in 2002 and 2005.

"My thanks go to all those involved who, with this successful investigation, have made their contribution to ensuring that Jews in Europe can continue to live in safety and peace," said Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP). "We must therefore do everything we can to ensure that Jews in our country do not have to fear for their safety again." Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said that the arrests showed "that our security authorities are extremely vigilant and act consistently". "We have the Islamist scene in our sights."

Since the terrorist attack on October 7, fears have been growing that there could also be attacks in Germany. At the beginning of November, Faeser issued a ban on Hamas' activities, which is intended to facilitate police measures at rallies, for example. She also issued a ban on the German branch of the Palestinian network Samidoun.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution estimates that Hamas has around 450 members in Germany. In contrast to Islamist terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda or Islamic State (IS), Hamas has so far not carried out any attacks in Western countries, but exclusively in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Three people were arrested in Denmark on Thursday on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack. According to Israeli intelligence, they also have links to Hamas - the Danish authorities have not yet confirmed this. In a statement from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seven people were arrested in Denmark, citing the foreign intelligence service Mossad. According to dpa information, the security authorities in Germany are not yet assuming that these suspects had any plans in common with the men arrested in Rotterdam and Berlin.

The Danish authorities did not provide any information on possible terrorist targets or the motive behind the attacks. The operational head of the secret service PET, Flemming Drejer, only said at a short press conference in Copenhagen that they were accused of violating terror laws. He also spoke of another arrest in the Netherlands. The investigations had revealed a network of people who had been involved in preparing an act of terrorism, Drejer said. There were links to the gang milieu and abroad.