Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday the dismantling of a cell linked to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Europe with the aim of attacking Israelis and Jews on the continent.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement sent to the media: “After a long investigation conducted by Mossad – the Israeli foreign intelligence service – and thanks to cooperation with European intelligence and security services, the terrorist infrastructure built by Hamas with the aim of carrying out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets was recently dismantled.”
The Prime Minister’s government had referred to the first operation last September in the Austrian capital, Vienna, where “a weapons cache containing pistols and explosive devices was discovered and confiscated” linked to Muhammad Naim, the son of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Bassem Naim.
The organization also confirmed that the meeting held on the same date in Qatar between the father and son “indicates the possible involvement of the Hamas leadership in promoting terrorism in Europe, with permission for its members to act with authority and complicity.”
In addition, it referred to the second operation that led to the arrest of Burjan Al-Jateeb in Germany after he remained in Turkey, a country that, according to Netanyahu’s office, “in the past and at the present time (represents) a suitable operational scenario for Hamas operatives.”
According to the Israeli authorities, the two operations are part of a broader investigation on the European continent to combat terrorism against Israeli and Jewish targets. He pointed out that this “reflects the growing international understanding of the escalation of this threat and its determination to thwart any terrorist activity by Hamas in its territories.”
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