Three suspected Hamas members in custody

Justice - Three suspected Hamas members 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 Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe. The highest German prosecution authority accuses them of searching for weapons that were to 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 in the Netherlands. The three suspects from Berlin - the Egyptian Mohamed B. and the Lebanese-born Abdelhamid Al A. and Ibrahim El-R. - were brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe. He executed the arrest warrants.

The fourth man, the Dutchman Nazih R., will only come to Germany later as part of extradition proceedings. According to the public prosecutor's office in Amsterdam, he was brought before a magistrate and will remain behind bars until his extradition to Germany is heard. All four defendants are accused of membership of a foreign terrorist organization. They are said to have been closely linked to leaders of the military wing of the Islamist Hamas.

First indications as early as last summer

According to information from security circles, the men 's activities are not directly linked 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.

As far as the authorities know, there were no specific targets for the attack. In October, the three men, who lived in Berlin, had set off several times from Berlin 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-off about their search for weapons came from abroad.

Further arrests in Denmark

Almost at the same time - also on Thursday - three terror suspects were arrested in Denmark. Two were remanded in custody following a detention hearing, one person was initially released. Pre-trial detention in absentia was ordered for four other people who have not yet been arrested. The suspects are suspected of having prepared a terrorist attack. Details of the suspected terror plans have not yet been disclosed.

According to media reports, the three people 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 news agency Ritzau that there was no direct connection between the arrests in Germany and those in Denmark. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Karlsruhe said: "We do not comment on investigations in Denmark."

Carrying out attacks outside Israel and the Palestinian territories would be a change of strategy by Hamas. This could possibly have its origins in the growing Iranian influence on the military arm of Hamas.

According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany has so far 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. At the beginning of November, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) issued a ban on Hamas' activities, which is intended, for example, to facilitate police measures at rallies.