From the Liveblog of
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Report: Ex-guard for Hamas chief got UK citizenship before arrest for plotting terror attack on Jews in Europe
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleA former bodyguard for slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was granted asylum and citizenship in the United Kingdom before he was caught planning a terror attack targeting Jews in Europe in November, The UK Times reports.
A law enforcement source tells the outlet the man, identified only as Mr. X due to legal reasons, was an “essential” figure in the planned terror attack.
However, the report describes him as the son of a senior Hamas official. According to a Mossad statement in November, weapons seized as part of the operation to thwart the plot belonged to Hamas operative Muhammad Na’im, whose father is senior Gaza-based Hamas politburo official Basem Na’im.
According to The Times report, Mr. X was arrested in Egypt for operating an arms and gold smuggling tunnel into Gaza over a decade ago.
He then moved to the UK and was granted refugee status and eventual citizenship, living as an IT consultant in the suburbs of a large English city, even while his Hamas activities were public knowledge, The Times reports.
He was reportedly not a priority for British security services when he began planning the attack with other Hamas terrorists in Europe.
Mr. X was arrested in central London in November as part of a multinational effort, including the Mossad, to thwart the Hamas terror attack on Jewish community centers, Israeli diplomats and pro-Israel rallies in Germany or Austria last October, aimed to be on the two-year anniversary of the October 7 massacre, The Times reports.
He now faces extradition to Germany, according to the report.
A reported indictment says he filmed himself declaring the plans were on behalf of Hamas’s military wing, speaking to the camera while masked and armed, with a Hamas flag in the background.
The Times of Israel Community.