Suspected Hamas members were arrested in Germany on Wednesday after the authorities uncovered an alleged plot to stage an attack on Jewish targets.
Some of those arrested were detained as they attempted to buy weapons in Berlin. Police sources told German media that the group was allegedly commissioned by Hamas to procure weapons and ammunition in Germany and they done so since at least the summer.
According to security sources, these weapons were then intended to be used to carry out attacks on Jewish and Israeli institutions. The Gaza war has seen heightened intelligence activity but in place around Europe to safeguard against potential retaliatory attacks.
“In the course of today's arrests, various weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle and several pistols, as well as a considerable amount of ammunition, were found,” said federal prosecutors.
In February, four Hamas members suspected of plotting attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe went on trial in Berlin in what prosecutors described as the first court case against the group in Germany.
At the time of those arrests in late 2023, three men arrested by Federal Criminal Police Office were named as Abdelhamid Al A, Mohamed B and Ibrahim El R.
A fourth, Nazih R was arrested by Dutch police forces in Rotterdam on the basis of a European arrest warrant issued by the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice.
Hamas has not routinely operated outside Israel and the Palestinian territories. The suspects are not know to be operating under leadership orders or freelancing in Europe.
