A police officer stands vigilant in front of the Israeli embassy in Berlin on October 20, 2024. — AFP
German prosecutors announced on Sunday that they had apprehended a Libyan man suspected of ties to the Daesh group and planning an armed assault on the Israeli embassy in Berlin. The suspect, identified only as Omar A., was taken into custody on Saturday evening at his residence in Bernau, just outside the German capital, according to the federal prosecutor's office. The 28-year-old was charged with "supporting a foreign terrorist organization" and was believed by prosecutors to be a follower of the Daesh ideology. Omar A. was allegedly plotting a "high-profile attack using firearms" on the Israeli embassy in Berlin. As part of his preparations, he had reportedly communicated with an IS member via a messaging app. A judge ordered the suspect to be held in pre-trial detention, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office informed AFP.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed gratitude on X, thanking the security authorities for thwarting a "cowardly attack plan." He emphasized that Germany would not relent in its fight against terrorism. Authorities conducted a search of the suspect's home in Bernau on Saturday. They also searched a property near Bonn belonging to another individual not suspected of involvement in the alleged plan. German media reported that the flat in Sankt Augustin near Bonn belonged to the suspect's uncle, who was being treated as a witness. Omar A. was arrested following a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency, according to local media, and had not been on any militant watchlist in Germany. The suspect entered Germany in November 2022 and applied for asylum in January 2023, which was rejected in September 2023, requiring him to leave the country.
The suspect's immigration status mirrors that of the alleged perpetrator of a fatal stabbing at a festival in Germany in August. The attack in Solingen, which resulted in three deaths, sparked public outrage after it was revealed that the Syrian suspect had evaded authorities' attempts to deport him. The German government has since responded with stricter knife laws and a tougher stance on immigration. MPs recently passed rules that remove benefits for asylum seekers slated for deportation to other EU countries.
In response to the arrest, Israel's ambassador to Berlin stated that "Muslim anti-Semitism is no longer just hate rhetoric; it leads to and encourages terrorist activities worldwide." Israeli embassies are "on the front line of the diplomatic battlefield," Ambassador Ron Prosor noted in a message shared by the embassy on social media platform X. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser emphasized the importance of protecting Jewish and Israeli institutions in Germany, stating that law enforcement is acting with the utmost vigilance to prevent any suspected "Islamist, anti-Semitic, and anti-Israel violence."
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel's retaliatory strikes on Gaza, German authorities have heightened vigilance regarding potential Islamist threats and anti-Semitism. In early September, Munich police fatally shot an Austrian man known for his links to radical Islamism after he opened fire at the Israeli consulate and on police. In early October, there were explosions near the Israeli embassy in Denmark and gunfire near its mission in Sweden.
Source link: https://www.khaleejtimes.com
