‘Hamas terrorists who planned to carry out terror attack on Jewish institutions across Europe’ appear before German court as it is claimed the four men ‘had close ties to senior leaders’

By William On Dec 15, 2023

Four suspected Hamas terrorists accused of planning a terror attack on Jewish institutions across Europe will appear in a German court today.

Egyptian citizen Mohamed B., Lebanon-born Ibrahim El-R. and Abdelhamid Al A., also from Lebanon, were flown in a helicopter to the German city of Karlsruhe to appear in court today after being arrested in Berlin yesterday.

A fourth suspect, Dutchman Nazih R., will appear before the same judge after he was arrested by police in the port city of Rotterdam yesterday.

The four men are said to have started preparing a weapons cache in Berlin, where weapons would be “kept on alert in view of possible terrorist attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe,” German federal prosecutors said.

The suspected terrorists are said to have “close ties” to senior leaders of Hamas's military wing, which launched a devastating attack on Israel on October 7, slaughtering 1,200 Israelis as they begged for their lives.

Federal police officers lead two suspects out of the helicopter on Friday for their arraignment at the Federal Supreme Court (BGH) in Karlsruhe, Germany

A federal police helicopter lands with the terror suspects on Friday for their arraignment at the Federal Supreme Court (BGH) in Karlsruhe, Germany

Heavily armed German police officers raided Ibrahim El-R's apartment in Berlin last night, with police seizing several cooling packs containing ammonium nitrate gel that could be used to make explosives, reports Image.

The four men are suspected of being tasked with finding a previously constructed underground Hamas weapons cache in Europe that would be used in attacks on Jewish institutions across the continent.

At least one location in Germany is believed to be the planned target of a terror attack, Tagesschau reports, with the order coming from the Hamas leadership in Lebanon.

Their appearance in court today came after Danish authorities said they too had prevented a terror attack and arrested three more suspects on Thursday.

One of them was released, prosecutor Anders Larsson said Friday after an overnight detention hearing in a Copenhagen court. But he did not say whether the person was still considered a suspect.

Two suspects remain in police custody in Denmark after being ordered to remain in pre-trial detention until January 9.

Larsson also said four other people were being held in pretrial detention in absentia, but he did not say whether authorities knew where they were or if there was an active manhunt. But without elaborating further, he said there is “someone still on the loose.”

None of the suspects can be identified due to a court order and the custody hearing took place behind 'double closed doors' – meaning no details were available about the case, which is shrouded in secrecy.

Danish police declined to comment on whether there was any connection between the reported arrests in Denmark and Germany.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said in a statement that Danish security forces had “thwarted an attack aimed at killing innocent civilians on European soil.”

“The terrorist organization Hamas has worked relentlessly and exhaustively to expand its deadly operations into Europe, threatening the internal security of these countries,” Netanyahu said.

Danish police did not go into details about the suspects or give any indication about the possible target of the alleged plot.

Danish police said raids were underway across the country and were being carried out at an early stage in the investigation

FILE – Palestinian militants from Hamas ride on a truck with their weapons

“It was a group that planned an act of terror,” Flemming Drejer, head of operations at the PET intelligence service, told a news conference.

There were “ramifications involving other countries” and organized crime, he added.

The threat level against Denmark is considered high, with the PET rating it at four on the five-point threat scale.

Police increased their presence in Copenhagen but said the capital remained “safe.”

Nevertheless, the Jewish community canceled a public Hanukkah celebration planned for Thursday evening, Danish media reported.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the operations “show us the situation Denmark is in.”

“For several years now we have noticed that there are people who live in Denmark and do not wish us success, who are against our democracy and our freedom, and who are against Danish society,” she told reporters.

Over the summer, Denmark and neighboring Sweden became the target of anger in several Muslim countries after a series of protests in Scandinavia during which the Koran was burned and desecrated.

In Iraq, nearly a thousand demonstrators attempted to march on the Danish embassy in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone in late July, following a call from incendiary cleric Moqtada Sadr.

According to figures from the national police, 483 book burnings or flag burnings were recorded in Denmark between July 21 and October 24 this year.

In response, the Danish parliament passed a law earlier this month that criminalizes the burning, tearing or otherwise defiling of religious texts, such as Islam's holy book.

In 2006, a wave of anti-Danish anger and violence broke out in the Muslim world following the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in the small Scandinavian country.

And in February 2015, a gunman who declared allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group opened fire on a cultural center in Copenhagen where a forum on Islam and freedom of expression was being held.

Last year, a Danish court sentenced an IS sympathizer to 16 years in prison for plotting a bomb attack. The sentence was the harshest ever handed down under Danish anti-terrorism laws.