Israel has issued a chilling warning to 20 European countries over a massive network of Hamas agents operating under cover. It comes days after the EU warned of the “huge risk of terrorist attacks” this Christmas.
The fear of terror attacks on Christmas markets across Europe intensified after Eiffel Tower bloodbath earlier this week.
On Saturday night in Paris, a 24-year-old German-Filipino man was brutally stabbed to death by ISIS supporter.
And there are fears sleeper cells of terrorists could be activated across Europe.
Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Ministry sent personal letters to European leaders, which included evidence of terrorist activity of Hamas in major cities across the continent.
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said: “Weeks have passed since the barbarism that Hamas committed against infants, children, the elderly, and thousands of Israeli citizens.
“This is not the time for ambiguity. I want to clarify this unequivocally. Hamas has proven that their goal is to kill Jews everywhere.”
Tzur Bar-Oz, the ministry’s head of research, added: “Hamas has been operating for many years worldwide, mainly through covert humanitarian donations.”
The letter included evidence on known activists, including social media posts that praised Hamas’s activity.
Israeli diaspora’s plea comes after the rise of antisemitic hate sweeps European countries.
Chilki said: ” Since the massacre, calls for violence against Jews worldwide have increased by 120 per cent.”
Over 30 Jewish media outlets have united to release a joint open letter about the impact of the ongoing war on Jewish people across the world.
The letter stated that Jewish people around the globe “have not been this fearful in living memory”.
According to the Met Police, in London alone there has been a 1,350 per cent increase in hate crimes against Jewish people.
Multiple arrests have been made at Pro-Palestine marches in the capital, including of a man wearing a Hamas headband and one carrying a sign with swastikas on it.
The letters were sent to leaders in Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Germany, and representatives of the European Union among others.
The goal of the appeal is to make the countries see the threat and act to eliminate it.
“It is a complex network of hatred operating in many countries, including Western and highly democratic ones.
“This phenomenon must be uprooted and eradicated as soon as possible. This activity has already yielded results and produced consequences,” Tzur Bar-Oz said.
Examples the letter provided included Mohammed Ahmed Hanon, an Italian resident, who was the head of the “Charity Association for Palestinian Support” (ABSPP) in Italy.
The charity was linked to to the “Union of Good”, which was banned in Israel and the US for donating funds to Hamas.
In 2021, the accounts of the association were closed due to suspicious activity.
Ahmed Hanon was seen posing in pictures with Hamas leaders, including Ismael Haniyeh, and receiving an honour from the organisation’s senior figure Ahmed Barhoum.
The letter also claimed Hanon praised and glorified Hamas leaders and displayed the terror group’s flags on his Facebook page.
Another example included Amin Abu Rashad, who was detained in the Netherlands in June on suspicion of sending money to Hamas.
He allegedly transferred millions of euros from Europe to the terror group through charitable organisations.
Rashad has denied these claims since, and his organisation issued statement urging his release, stressing his detention “lacks legal evidence.”
Rashad also published a post praising the “hands” that carried out stabbing attacks in Jerusalem in October 2015, reported Jerusalem Post.
Muhammad Sawalha, also known as Abu Obada, was another European resident linked to Hamas by the Israel’s Diaspora.
He was a member of Hamas’s military wing in the West Bank in the late 80s when the movement was established.
He was later a member of the terror group’s political bureau from 2013 to 2017.
Sawalha fled to the UK in the 90s where he continued to work for Hamas, holding secret discussions about “revitalising” terrorist acts in Israel and aiding in the laundering of money to fund Hamas activities in the West Bank and Gaza, according to a 2004 US Department of Justice indictment.
“We hope that the leaders of the countries understand what Hamas is,” Bar-Oz concluded.
“And that these are extreme people who pose a threat to citizens worldwide, not just Jews and not just in Israel.
“We are already seeing a response from certain countries on the ground.”
Israel’s warning comes as fear of terror during Christmas season grows amid recent attacks in Europe.
