Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has warned that Hamas is building an operational network across Europe through intelligence cells. In a statement, Mossad noted that in collaboration with European security agencies, it has detected weapons, arrested suspects, and thwarted planned attacks targeting Israeli and Jewish communities. As a result of joint operations in countries like Germany and Austria, several suspects were detained and a cache of weapons prepared for use ‘on command’ against civilians was seized.
According to agency’s statement, a major breakthrough came in Vienna last September when Austria’s DSN security service found a stash of handguns and explosives. The weapons were linked to Mohammad Naim, the son of senior Hamas official Bassem Naim, who is closely associated with senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya in Gaza.
Mossad accuses Hamas
Mossad has further accused Hamas leadership overseas of secretly facilitating these operations. “The involvement of the organization’s leadership from Qatar in promoting terrorist activity is not being exposed for the first time, although senior members of the movement often deny it publicly time and again, as part of their efforts to protect the image of the Hamas organization in the eyes of international public opinion,” Mossad stated.
The agency also pointed to a meeting between Mohammed Naim and his father in Qatar in September, saying it could show Hamas’s formal support for operations in Europe. Investigators are also identifying Hamas figures operating from Turkey, which has long been a base for the organisation. German authorities recently arrested Burhan al-Khatib in November, who is said to have been active in Turkey before relocating.
What did the agency say?
Earlier on November 19, The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), on behalf of the Mossad for Intelligence and Special Operations revealed wave of terrorist infrastructure being built by the Hamas leadership in the heart of Europe, calling this a “The Hamas Octopus.” The PMO stated that terrorist infrastructures built by Hamas in Europe with the aim of carrying out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets were recently thwarted and said close cooperation between the Mossad and European intelligence and law enforcement services led to the seizure of weapons caches and the arrests of terrorist operatives on the continent.
