Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad has claimed that it uncovered a major Hamas-linked terror network operating across Europe, alleging that elements of the group’s leadership in Qatar were involved in steering the operations.Mossad, in a statement, said that the network was designed by Hamas to activate “on the day the order is given,” with European raids revealing weapons stockpiles that included handguns and explosive devices. One such cache was discovered last September during a joint operation by Austria’s State Security and Intelligence Directorate (DSN) in Vienna.
“The investigation into the Hamas terror network in Europe is currently examining the possible involvement of Hamas elements in Turkey in promoting the intention to carry out attacks, some of which have been exposed,” the statement said.“Law and enforcement authorities in Europe, including in Germany and Austria, have conducted a series of complex counter-terrorism operations, resulting in the arrest of terrorist operatives and the discovery of weapons caches intended for use by terrorist cells to harm innocent people ‘on the day the order is given’,” it added.
Turkey, Qatar named in the statement
The investigation has also drawn attention to suspected Hamas activity in Turkey, which Mossad described as a longstanding “convenient operational arena.” German authorities arrested another alleged operative, Barah al-Khatib, last November after he reportedly travelled from Turkey following his activities in Europe.“This is due to Turkey being a convenient operational arena for Hamas operatives in the past and present. As part of the investigation by European security and enforcement bodies, a prominent operative in the infrastructure, Barah al-Khatib, was arrested in Germany last November, after having stayed in Turkey, apparently after completing his operational activity on European soil,” it said.Investigators linked the weapons seized to Hamas operative Muhammad Na’im, son of senior Hamas political bureau member Basem Na’im. Mossad claimed the pair held a meeting in Qatar around the same period, suggesting that senior leadership based there had authorised the expansion of terror activity into Europe. It asserted that this contradicted public denials by Hamas leaders who reject accusations of external operations.“The involvement of the organization’s leadership from Qatar in promoting terrorist activities is not being exposed for the first time, even though the movement’s senior officials have repeatedly denied it publicly, as part of their effort to protect the image of the Hamas organization in the eyes of international public opinion,” it said.
