תגית: Shin Bet

Hamas Planned Attacks on Targets Abroad, Israeli Intelligence Says

Arrests have been made in three European countries after Hamas plot for terror attacks in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe uncovered, the Mossad and Shin Bet said

Published in Haaretz (with Jonathan Lis): https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-13/ty-article/.premium/hamas-planned-attacks-on-targets-abroad-israeli-agencies-say/0000018d-0432-dd94-a9cd-46fe9dad0000

Three European countries arrested suspects allegedly involved in plans by Hamas to attack Israeli and Jewish targets abroad in December, the Mossad spy agency and Shin Bet security service said Saturday.

According to the agencies' statement, the arrests in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands are part of an ongoing intelligence investigation in various countries.

It said that Hamas tried to plan attacks on targets in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, commanded by top Hamas leaders Saleh al-Arouri, Samir Findi Abu Amer, and Azzam Al-Aqraa Abu Ammar – all killed in a bombing in Beirut earlier this month. The arrests were made on December 14, and legal proceedings continue.

The planned targets included the Israeli Embassy in Sweden, the agencies said. While other European embassies were open and functioning normally in the weeks following the outbreak of the war, the embassy in Stockholm was completely closed, very strict restrictions were imposed on the movement and work of Israeli diplomats in the country, and consular services were not provided to Israelis living in Sweden except in very urgent cases.

According to the Mossad and Shin Bet, Hamas' activity in Europe included acquiring drones and running street gangs. The statement further noted that Khalil Harraz, the former deputy commander of Hamas' military wing in Lebanon, oversaw the activity in Europe.

He was killed in November 2023 in an attack attributed to Israel in southern Lebanon. Harraz allegedly used Hamas collaborators in Europe and members of the organized crime group LFT – Loyal to Familia – which was outlawed in Denmark in 2021.

Swedish Authorities Detonate Suspected Explosive Device Found Near Israeli Embassy

Swedish daily news site Expressen reported that the object found and detonated by police was a hand grenade. Israel's ambassador to Sweden thanked police for its swift response

Published in "Haarertz" (with Jonathan Lis): https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/2024-01-31/ty-article/.premium/swedish-authorities-detonate-suspected-explosive-device-found-near-israeli-embassy/0000018d-60c1-d897-a3ef-e3f9292e0000

Swedish police detonated on Wednesday a suspicious object found near the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, believed to be an explosive charge.

The Swedish daily news site Expressen reported that it was a hand grenade.

Israel's ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman, said this was an "attempted attack" against the embassy and its employees, and thanked Swedish authorities "for their swift response." He added that they "will not be intimidated by terror."

Shortly after the attack, a police car and an officer with a weapon drawn were seen outside the Hillel Jewish school in the center of Stockholm.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz commended the Swedish authorities in a post on X for their "vigilance and quick handling of the attempt to attack the embassy in Stockholm." "Our excellent diplomats around the world are subject to danger and threats from supporters of Islamic terrorism. I told this to all my colleagues – Islamic terrorism must be eradicated everywhere. In Gaza and Europe. Defend your countries," he added.

"This is very serious. An attempted attack on an embassy is an attack both on those who work there and on Sweden," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a social media post, adding police and Sweden's Security Police were investigating "who is or who are responsible".

Kristersson said surveillance of the embassy and of Jewish institutions in Sweden had been tightened.

Aron Verstandig, chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities in Sweden, told Haaretz that he takes the incident very seriously. "I condemn this criminal act," he said.

Petra Kahn Nord, representative of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) in the Nordic countries, says she sees the attempted attack as very serious. "It is very good that the Swedish authorities acted quickly and decisively," she said. "Now I hope that whoever is behind this will be found and prosecuted soon."

Earlier this month, Israel's Mossad spy agency and Shin Bet security service said that three European countries arrested suspects allegedly involved in plans by Hamas to attack Israeli and Jewish targets abroad.

The planned targets included the Israeli Embassy in Sweden, the agencies said. While other European embassies were open and functioning normally in the weeks following the outbreak of the war, the embassy in Stockholm was completely closed, very strict restrictions were imposed on the movement and work of Israeli diplomats in the country, and consular services were not provided to Israelis living in Sweden except in very urgent cases.