Probe into foiled Hamas plots in Europe revealed they were planned in Qatar, possibly Turkey, Mossad says

Recently foiled Hamas terrorist plots in Europe were planned in Qatar and possibly Turkey, the Mossad intelligence agency says.

The spy agency says in a statement that it carried out a lengthy investigation alongside European counterparts that resulted in the arrest of terror suspects and weapons stockpiles “intended for use by Hamas cells to harm innocent civilians on command.”

Earlier this month, German police seized weapons and arrested a British man suspected of links to alleged Hamas members in Germany who are accused of plotting attacks on Jewish targets.

The man, 39, was arrested in London on a German arrest warrant, German prosecutors said.

His Berlin contact, a German citizen known as Abed Al G., was one of three alleged Hamas “foreign operatives” detained in October on suspicion of attempting to procure weapons for the attacks. Police seized an AK-47 assault rifle, handguns and ammunition during their arrests. Hamas denied any connection to the three.

The suspect had been given five handguns and ammunition, which he transported to Vienna for storage, according to Germany’s Federal Prosecutor.

Austria’s state intelligence agency DSN seized the arms in Vienna after probing “a globally active terrorist organization with close ties” to Hamas, the country’s interior ministry said in a statement. The Mossad said at the time it was involved in the investigation.

According to today’s Mossad statement, the weapons belonged to Hamas operative Muhammad Na’im, whose father is senior Gaza-based Hamas politburo official Basem Na’im.

Na’im, says Israel, met his father in Qatar in September.

“The timing of the meeting suggests possible involvement of Hamas leadership in authorizing and directing terror activity in Europe,” says the Mossad, while qualifying that statement with “the leadership’s sweeping denials may point to a loss of control over its rogue operatives.”

The investigation into Hamas’s European network is looking into the possibility that Hamas members in Turkey were among the planners of the attack, according to Israel. A year ago, suspected Hamas member Burhan al-Khatib was arrested in Germany after having been in Turkey.

Mossad insists that European partnership in the effort to counter the Hamas terror threat “reflects growing international recognition of the increasing danger and their determination to thwart any Hamas activity on their territory.”

Since the October 7, 2023, attacks, says Israel, Hamas has been focused on building its terror network in Europe.

In February, four Hamas members suspected of plotting attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe went on trial in Berlin, in what prosecutors described as the first court case against Hamas terrorists in Germany.