The German Federal Prosecutor’s Office has arrested a suspected terrorist in London who had previously traveled to Germany for arms deals. WELT investigations now reveal that the suspect is believed to have significant connections to the top ranks of the terrorist organization.
The 39-year-old man arrested in London last Monday , whom the German Federal Prosecutor General (GBA) accuses of involvement in Hamas terror plans in Germany, is said to have family ties to the Hamas leadership. This was revealed by research conducted by WELT.
The Federal Prosecutor General’s Office (GBA) accuses Mohammed A. of having received five pistols and ammunition in Berlin in the summer from a suspected terrorist who was arrested in early October. A. allegedly stored these weapons in Vienna. According to the investigation, the intended purpose was to use them to attack Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany and Europe.
Security authorities are investigating suspicions that A. is the son of former Hamas minister Bassem Naim. His father initially served as health minister, and later as head of youth and sports in the Gaza Strip. Bassem Naim is considered an internationally known figure within the terrorist organization; he was last reportedly in Qatar, where he escaped a targeted Israeli airstrike in which one of Naim’s bodyguards is said to have been killed.
According to security sources, his alleged son, Mohammed A., was first arrested in London at the beginning of October, but subsequently released. The arrest was reportedly unrelated to the terrorism allegations.
WELT attempted to contact Bassem Naim and a Hamas foreign spokesperson regarding the current allegations against Mohammed A., but received no response before publication. Bassem Naim was interviewed as recently as October by the German politician and publicist Jürgen Todenhöfer. Todenhöfer stated that Naim was an “architect of the ceasefire” with Israel.
Contacts deep into the criminal underworld
The Federal Prosecutor General’s Office (GBA) has accused four men, two of whom are German citizens, of planning attacks on Jewish targets in Germany and Europe. Recent investigations by WELT revealed that the group has been under investigation for over a year – initially primarily due to its links to organized crime.
The men are believed to belong to a Turkish-Lebanese gang structure and to have established a logistical route for illegal activities from the Middle East via Istanbul to Scandinavia and Germany. Investigators later discovered that the suspects had contact with Hamas – and were possibly preparing a terrorist attack.
In early October, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) spoke in an interview about a Hamas operative abroad who had traveled to Germany weeks earlier for arms deals. There is now strong evidence suggesting that this was Mohamed A. According to information obtained by WELT, German investigators placed the man under intensive surveillance after the weapons handover.
In Vienna, the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence also investigated the activities of Mohammed As, announcing on Thursday that it had uncovered the weapons cache of the suspected Hamas man.
