Terror suspects arrested in Europe, including several linked to Hamas who were allegedly plotting against Jews
Denmark was holding two people in custody and four others were the target of a terrorism investigation, a prosecutor said Friday, in a case that coincided with one arrest in the Netherlands and several in Germany of alleged Hamas members suspected of plotting attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in Europe amid the ongoing war between Israel and the militant group in Gaza.
Authorities in Denmark did not immediately confirm any link to Hamas, which has long been designated as a terror organization by the U.S., Israel and most European nations, but authorities in Germany said the three people arrested there were members, suspected of preparing for attacks against Jews in Europe.
The two suspects being held in Denmark were ordered to remain in pretrial detention until Jan. 9. The whereabouts of the other four, and whether there was an ongoing search for them, weren't immediately known.
In Germany, two men were arrested in Berlin and one in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, while a fourth suspect was temporarily detained in Berlin, Germany's federal prosecutor said. Authorities only identified the men by their first names and the first initial of their last name, in line with German privacy rules.
Officials in Copenhagen did not provide any details beyond saying the arrests had "threads abroad" and were "related to criminal gangs," singling out the banned, predominantly immigrant gang Loyal to Familia that had long been behind feuds, violence, robberies, extortion and drug sales in the Danish capital.
However, Flemming Drejer, the operative head of Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service, cryptically said police had "a special focus" on Jewish institutions. He said Denmark was not changing its terror threat level, which has been at "serious," the second-highest level, since 2010.
"Persons abroad have been charged... It is a serious situation," Drejer told a news conference, adding that the arrests were carried out in "collaboration with our foreign partners" and that those arrested were part of "a network."
The suspects would face a custody hearing within 24 hours, he said, likely behind "double closed doors" meaning he could not give any details about the case.
"This is extremely serious," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Thursday from Brussels where she was attending a European Union summit.
"It is of course completely unacceptable in relation to Israel and Gaza, that there is someone who takes a conflict somewhere else in the world into Danish society," she added.
In the Netherlands, police said a 57-year-old Dutch man was arrested in the city of Rotterdam, based on a request from German authorities, according to spokesman Jesse Brobbel. On Tuesday, the Dutch counterterrorism agency raised the country's threat alert to its second-highest level, saying the possibility of an attack in the country is now "substantial."
The four detained in Germany were identified as Abdelhamid Al A., born in Lebanon; Egyptian national Mohamed B.; Dutch national Nazih R. and Ibrahim El-R., born in Lebanon.
The authorities alleged three of the men "have been longstanding members of Hamas and have participated in Hamas operations abroad." They said the suspects were "closely linked to the military branch's leadership" of Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann thanked the authorities for the arrests and said that "attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions have also increased in our country in recent weeks" due to the Israel-Hamas war.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office lauded what it said were seven Hamas suspects arrested in Europe, but attributed the arrests to Danish police.
The prime minister's office said Denmark had arrested seven operatives acting on behalf of Hamas and "thwarted an attack aimed at killing innocent citizens on European soil." Netanyahu's office said Israel's intelligence agencies "will continue to operate ... in order to repel the intentions of Hamas and eliminate its capabilities."
The discrepancies between the Danish, German and Israeli statements could not immediately be resolved.
Earlier this month, the European Union's home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, warned that Europe faced a "huge risk of terrorist attacks" over the Christmas holiday period due to the fallout from the fighting in Gaza.
Denmark's foreign intelligence service, known as FE, said Thursday in its annual assessment for 2023 that "the war between Israel and Hamas has once again shown that unresolved conflicts in Europe's immediate area can escalate rapidly and create widespread regional instability."