Israeli intelligence has accused Hamas of building ‘terrorist infrastructure’ and cultivating a covert network across Europe. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also claimed that a recent operation against ‘The Hamas Octopus’ had led to the seizure of weapons caches and the arrests of terrorist operatives on the continent.
“The involvement of the organization’s leadership from Qatar in promoting terrorist activity is not being exposed for the first time, although senior members of the movement often deny it publicly time and again, as part of their efforts to protect the image of the Hamas organization in the eyes of international public opinion,” the PMO said.
According to an official statement, law enforcement agencies in Europe had worked with Mossad to carry out a series of complex raids. This resulted in the arrest of terrorist operatives and the exposure of weapons caches that were intended for ‘on command’ attacks against civilians. One of these operations — in Vienna last September — had unearthed links to Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya.
Rogue operatives or sanctioned terror?
The special operation was led by the Austrian State Security and Intelligence Directorate and unearthed a weapons hideout containing handguns and explosive devices. Further investigation revealed the cache belonged to Hamas operative Muhammad Na’im. His father Basem Na’im is a senior Hamas Political Bureau member abroad who remains close to the Hamas leader of Gaza. Mossad claims that Muhammad Na’im had also held a meeting with his father in Qatar during the same time period.
“The meeting between the two at that time indicates a possible involvement of the Hamas leadership in promoting terrorism in Europe, with authorization for the movement’s operatives to advance terrorism with authority and sanction. The sweeping denials by the movement’s leadership on this matter can only attest to the leadership’s loss of control over its rogue operatives,” the Israeli PMO statement added.
Israel continues to test ceasefire
Health officials in Gaza said at least 24 people were killed and at least 54 wounded, including children. Israel says it launched the strikes after an “armed terrorist” crossed into an Israeli-held area and shot at troops in southern Gaza. No soldiers were hurt. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said five senior Hamas members were killed. The strikes occurred amid international momentum on Gaza, with the UN Security Council on Monday approving the U.S. blueprint to secure and govern the territory.
(With inputs from agencies)