Denmark and Germany arrest Hamas suspects planning terror attacks
- Israeli PM Netanyahu says the suspects in Denmark were intending to ‘kill innocent civilians on European soil’
- German authorities say the men they arrested had begun preparing a weapons cache in Berlin for potential attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe
Danish and German authorities said on Thursday they had arrested individuals suspected of planning attacks, with Israel saying the suspects in Denmark were acting “on behalf of Hamas”.
Danish security officials said there is no direct link between the two sets of arrests. Danish authorities said the arrest of three suspects in Denmark and a fourth in the Netherlands had prevented a “terror” attack.
In Berlin, prosecutors said German police arrested four suspected members of Hamas on Thursday, who they said were preparing an attack against Jewish targets in Europe.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Danish security forces had “thwarted an attack, the goal of which was to kill innocent civilians on European soil”.
“The Hamas terrorist organisation has been working relentlessly and exhaustively to expand its lethal operations to Europe, and thereby constitute a threat to the domestic security of these countries,” Netanyahu said.