Why Hamas wants to strike in Europe now Orban repeats his opposition to the Ukrainian decision before the EU summit

The arrest of four men in Berlin and Rotterdam this week alarmed the German public. They are believed to belong to Hamas and were bringing weapons from an earthen depot to Berlin for possible attacks on Jewish institutions.

If Hamas actually becomes terrorist active in Europe, this would be a new development: so far the Palestinian organization has operated in the Middle East only with force. For a long time, politicians were hardly involved in their European activities: the German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, only banned Hamas from acting a few weeks after the attack on Israel.

The ‘Germany boss’ of the militia lived undisturbed in Berlin

This meant that Majed Al could live undisturbed in Berlin for a long time. According to Spiegel, the German Interior Ministry considers the British citizen to be Hamas’s “Head of Germany.” The 61-year-old, who has lived in the Neukölln district since 2014, is said to have maintained contacts at the highest levels of the militia and organized support across Europe.

Israel’s military successes in the fight against the terrorist group could actually increase the threat of Hamas in Europe: terrorism is a weapon of the weak, and small-scale attacks are relatively easy to carry out. If Hamas realizes that it cannot bring Israel to its knees, it could reach for lower hanging fruit in the streets of Berlin, Paris or Brussels.

Relatively little is still known about Hamas’s structures in Europe. A 2022 study by the Documentation Center for Political Islam, an Austrian state institute, may provide some insight. She is associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is considered the Palestinian branch.

Authors Sergio Altuna and Lorenzo Vidino managed to talk to four Brotherhood executives living in Europe. Externally, members are called on for moderation to prevent state repression, explains a Syrian living in Germany. No one openly acknowledges his membership.

The danger from Islamists has not been greater for a long time

If they were to engage publicly, they would also do so in other, more socially accepted organizations. One of these could be the Palestinian community in Germany, which was dissolved a few weeks before the attack on Israel. The German domestic secret service considers them to have close ties to Hamas, as does the dissolved association “The Barmstädten Hands”, which collected donations in Germany.

Europe is “like a lung” for the Muslim Brotherhood: a refuge where people can meet without being disturbed, another executive explained to the two researchers, from whose research one can draw the main conclusion that in many cases those who claim they have nothing to do with the Brotherhood or Hamas.

The threat of possible Islamist attacks in Europe is now greater than it has been for a long time. A number from Germany is telling: According to this, 284 of the investigations launched by the federal attorney general there between January and August were against Islamists. Eleven cases have been initiated against right-wing extremists and not a single case against left-wing extremists. The federal public prosecutor’s office takes action in particularly serious cases, such as terrorism.

(aargauerzeitung.ch)