3 alleged Hamas members arrested in Germany on suspicion of plotting attacks on Jewish institutions

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 said the three have been involved in procuring firearms since earlier this summer.

Various weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, and ammunition were found during a raid.
Hamas, however, said in a statement Wednesday that it has no connection to the three suspects, calling the allegations of a link to the group baseless and aimed at “undermining the German people’s sympathy with our Palestinian people and their legitimate struggle against the Zionist occupation.”
Hamas also said it has always confined its armed struggle to Israel and the Palestinian territories and would continue to do so.
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.
Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s federal interior minister, said Wednesday that the country has become an area where alleged terrorists now operate, German news agency dpa reported.

He added that authorities must be prepared to defend against it.
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