Germany brings charges against four men suspected of being Hamas members

The prosecutors noted that while Hamas is run out of Gaza, it has set up underground weapons depots in countries across Europe to ready them for possible attacks.

By MATHILDA HELLER NOVEMBER 26, 2024 13:07

The German national flag flies in front of Reichstag building in Berlin (photo credit: REUTERS)

Germany has brought charges against four suspected Hamas members, the Office of the Federal Public Prosecutor General revealed on Monday.

The office filed charges on 8 November against four men, including two Lebanese nationals, one Egyptian, and one Dutch.

The office's statement said that the accused are strongly suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization, under Section 129a and 129b of the Criminal Code.

The prosecutors noted that while Hamas is run out of Gaza, it has set up underground weapons depots in countries across Europe to ready them for possible attacks against Jews or Jewish institutions in the diaspora. To manage this, Hamas used foreign agents with European residency, who could be mobilized at short notice, the prosecutors continued.

The prosecutors listed possible targets as the Israeli embassy in Berlin, the US airbase in Ramstein, and the Tempelhof Airport.

Palestinian Hamas militants take part in an anti-Israel rally in Gaza City May 22, 2021 (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)

The four men indicted - Abdelhamid Al A., Mohamed B., Nazih R., and Ibrahim El-R - had reportedly been working as foreign Hamas operators for years. 

The prosecutors stated that the four men held high-up positions within the organization with direct ties to senior officials in Hamas's military wing. 

Ibrahim El-R set up a weapons depot with ammunition and firearms - including a Kalashnikov - in Bulgaria in the spring of 2019. 

In summer 2019, Ibrahim El-R. cleared out a weapons cache in Denmark and brought at least one pistol from it to Germany.

He traveled to Bulgaria again in August 2023.

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Searching for a weapons cache in Poland

"Between June and December 2023, all of the accused, in changing teams, went on several searches from Berlin for a weapons cache in Poland. Ultimately, it was not possible to locate it," the prosecutors added.

All four men were arrested on December 14 2023. Nazih R was first arrested in the Netherlands before being transferred to Germany for prosecution in February.