Journalism of Courage
Israel’s Mossad said Wednesday that the recent Hamas attack plans uncovered in Europe were orchestrated in Qatar and potentially Turkey. The intelligence agency disclosed details from what it described as a lengthy, joint investigation with several European services.
According to the agency, the probe led to the arrests of suspected operatives and the discovery of weapons “intended for use by Hamas cells to harm innocent civilians on command”, The Times of Israel reported.
Earlier this month, German authorities seized weapons and detained a British national as part of an investigation into alleged Hamas members in Germany suspected of preparing attacks on Jewish sites. German prosecutors said the 39-year-old was arrested in London on a German warrant.
His alleged Berlin-based contact, identified as Abed Al G., was one of three men arrested in October as suspected Hamas “foreign operatives”. Police recovered an AK-47, handguns and ammunition during their arrests. Hamas publicly rejected any link to the men.
German prosecutors said the suspect transported five handguns and ammunition to Vienna for storage. Austria’s intelligence agency, the DSN, later located the cache while investigating “a globally active terrorist organisation with close ties” to Hamas. Austria’s interior ministry confirmed Mossad’s involvement in the case.
Mossad said the seized weapons belonged to Muhammad Na’im, a Hamas operative whose father, Basem Na’im, serves in Hamas’s political leadership in Gaza. According to the agency, Muhammad met his father in Qatar in September.
“The timing of the meeting suggests possible involvement of Hamas leadership in authorising and directing terror activity in Europe,” Mossad said. However, it added that Hamas’s “sweeping denials may point to a loss of control over its rogue operatives.”
Israel said investigators are examining whether Hamas operatives based in Turkey were also involved in planning the aborted attacks. A year earlier, suspected Hamas member Burhan al-Khatib was detained in Germany after time spent in Turkey.
Mossad emphasised that European cooperation reflects “growing international recognition of the increasing danger” posed by Hamas networks and a shared commitment to stopping the group’s activities on their territory.
Israel says Hamas has been trying to expand its operations in Europe since the October 7, 2023, attacks. After last month’s arrests, Hamas dismissed allegations connecting it to the suspects in Germany, calling the claims baseless and saying its “struggle is confined to opposing Israeli occupation in Palestine.”
In February, four alleged Hamas members accused of plotting attacks on Jewish institutions went on trial in Berlin, described by prosecutors as Germany’s first case against Hamas operatives.
Hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by the European Union, the United States, and several other countries. The group maintains political offices in both Qatar and Turkey, where its leadership has long been based. In September, Israel targeted Hamas’s office in Doha in an unsuccessful airstrike aimed at killing senior leaders, The Times of Israel reported.
