The Global Pursuit of Terror Suspects
According to authorities in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, seven people—four of whom are suspected of being Hamas members—were detained on suspicion of plotting attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe on Thursday.
The arrests came as Israel continued its campaign to demolish Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The war began on October 7 when militants from the Palestinian Islamist movement launched a cross-border attack on Israeli communities.
German authorities claimed in a statement that all four of the accused were longtime Hamas members with deep ties to the organization’s military branch leadership: three were being held in Berlin and one in the Netherlands.
An official from Hamas refuted any affiliation with the group among those detained.
According to police, three persons who were detained in Denmark will face charges under the criminal code’s anti-terrorism clause and be brought before a court for first interrogation. If there was a connection between the arrests in Germany and the Netherlands and those in Denmark, it was unclear.
German prosecutors claimed that although Egyptian national Mohamed B and Lebanese nationals Abdelhamid Al A and Ibrahim El-R were detained in the German capital, Dutch citizen Nazih R was seized by police in Rotterdam.
Prosecutors alleged that Abdelhamid Al A was tasked by Hamas commanders in Lebanon with locating weapons suppliers. Prosecutors claimed that the weapons were scheduled to be transported to Berlin and stored there in case of future terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions.
German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said in a statement after the detentions that “attacks on Jews in Jewish institutions have also increased in our country in recent weeks, following the terrible attacks by Hamas on the Israeli population.”
“We must therefore do everything we can to ensure that Jews in our country do not have to fear for their safety again.”
“We deny there are Hamas members detained in Denmark, Germany, or any other European country,” Hamas spokeswoman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters. The purpose of making these claims public is to impact the large-scale pro-Palestinian demonstrations taking place throughout Europe.”
As part of a Danish-German investigation, Dutch police reported on Thursday that they had taken into custody a 57-year-old male in Rotterdam at the request of German authorities.
According to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, Denmark had uncovered “Hamas infrastructure on European soil,” according to Israel’s Mossad espionage agency.
Regarding the Israeli statement, the Danish police and intelligence services were not immediately reachable for comment. The ministry of justice chose not to respond.
According to the Ritzau news agency, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated: “It is of course – in relation to Israel and Gaza – completely unacceptable for someone to bring a conflict elsewhere in the world into Danish society.”
According to Danish police, the raids on Thursday came about as a result of closely coordinated investigations with foreign partners that had uncovered a network of individuals plotting a terrorist act.
The police announced that they will be more visible in the public in the days ahead, especially in Copenhagen and the surrounding Jewish communities. Although the Danish Jewish Community claimed to have been informed about the searches, it was unaware of any real threats to Jewish objectives.
Editing by Frances Kerry, Nick Macfie, and Grant McCool; reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Nidal al-Mughrabi, Bart Meijer, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Ari Rabinovitch, Petra Haverkamp, Johannes Birkebaek, Anna Ringstrom, and Terje Solsvik.
