The former bodyguard of ex-Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh planned attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets in Germany and Austria from Britain while holding refugee status there, the British newspaper The Times reported overnight Sunday.
What the report says
According to the report, cited by Haaretz, the man — whose identity is withheld for legal reasons — previously served on Haniyeh's security detail and moved to the United Kingdom more than a decade ago.
Despite it being known that he had worked for Haniyeh, that his father was a senior Hamas official, and that he had been arrested in Egypt on suspicion of involvement in operating a tunnel allegedly used to smuggle weapons into Gaza, he was granted asylum in the UK and worked as an IT consultant in an English suburb.
The report says he changed his name several times and stayed in contact with Hamas operatives in Europe, coordinating a planned attack on Jews ahead of the second anniversary of October 7.
How the plot was uncovered
The plot was uncovered in an investigation by the Mossad and German intelligence services. The man was arrested in central London last November by the UK's National Crime Agency, after which seven suspects were arrested and weapons seized in a joint operation with authorities in Austria and Denmark.
According to a German indictment, he is suspected of transferring pistols and ammunition to a hideout in Vienna, and of filming himself masked and armed alongside a Hamas flag, presenting the planned attack as an act of revenge by the group's military wing. An Israeli security source said he played a central role in planning the attacks.
He now faces extradition to Germany.
Sources:
Haaretz: Report: Ex-Hamas Chief's Bodyguard Planned Attacks on Jews in Europe While Seeking Asylum in U.K. — https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/...from-u-k/000001a0-e011-d24f-afbc-f2b3beda0000
What the report says
According to the report, cited by Haaretz, the man — whose identity is withheld for legal reasons — previously served on Haniyeh's security detail and moved to the United Kingdom more than a decade ago.
Despite it being known that he had worked for Haniyeh, that his father was a senior Hamas official, and that he had been arrested in Egypt on suspicion of involvement in operating a tunnel allegedly used to smuggle weapons into Gaza, he was granted asylum in the UK and worked as an IT consultant in an English suburb.
The report says he changed his name several times and stayed in contact with Hamas operatives in Europe, coordinating a planned attack on Jews ahead of the second anniversary of October 7.
How the plot was uncovered
The plot was uncovered in an investigation by the Mossad and German intelligence services. The man was arrested in central London last November by the UK's National Crime Agency, after which seven suspects were arrested and weapons seized in a joint operation with authorities in Austria and Denmark.
According to a German indictment, he is suspected of transferring pistols and ammunition to a hideout in Vienna, and of filming himself masked and armed alongside a Hamas flag, presenting the planned attack as an act of revenge by the group's military wing. An Israeli security source said he played a central role in planning the attacks.
He now faces extradition to Germany.
Sources:
Haaretz: Report: Ex-Hamas Chief's Bodyguard Planned Attacks on Jews in Europe While Seeking Asylum in U.K. — https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/...from-u-k/000001a0-e011-d24f-afbc-f2b3beda0000
