Berlin: Three alleged members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of plotting attacks on Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany, officials said.
The suspects are set to appear in court Thursday. A judge will then determine whether the trio can be held in custody ahead of a trial.
Germany’s federal prosecutor alleged that they have been involved in procuring firearms since earlier this summer. Various weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, and ammunition were found during a raid.
Two of the suspects are German citizens. The federal prosecutor’s office described the third as being born in Lebanon. They were only named as Abed Al G., Wael F. M., and Ahmad I., in line with German privacy rules.
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Hamas has carried out hundreds of attacks against Israeli civilians over the years but has rarely operated outside Israel and the Palestinian territories. Questions will likely be raised over whether the suspects were acting on orders from Hamas’ leadership or if they were merely sympathizers with Hamas or the Palestinian cause.
The arrests took place as Hamas said it would study US President Donald Trump’s peace proposal to end the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza.
The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel nearly two years ago killed some 1,200 people and 251 others were abducted. Most of the hostages have been freed under previous ceasefire deals, but 48 are still held in Gaza — around 20 believed by Israel to be alive.
Israel’s subsequent campaign in Gaza has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians and wounded nearly 170,000 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and militants in its toll, but has said women and children make up around half of the dead.
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