The deadly terrorist attack in Moscow at the weekend, in which more than 140 people were murdered by terrorists of an organization linked to ISIS, reminded Europe overnight of one of the main threats of this summer – Islamic terrorist attacks.
After months of increased vigilance following the war in Gaza, international intelligence cooperation that has already led to waves of arrests, and even before the series of huge events planned to take place on the continent this summer, the fear of terrorist attacks is increasingly taking over the agenda.
● Drift against Israel in Europe: cutting funds, diversion of investments and recognition of a Palestinian state
● Commentary | The mystery of terrorism in Moscow: How does a police state at war surrender to a tiny group of terrorists?
In Germany, the Minister of the Interior, Nancy Pazar, announced this week that the country will reestablish checks at its border crossings in preparation for and during the European Football Championship games (Euro 2024), which will be held in the country from June 14 to July 14. Currently, a large part of the border crossings are unmanned, as part of the commitment to free movement within the Schengen bloc of countries.
However, ahead of the Euro Championship, police officers will be redeployed at several border points, the Ministry of the Interior said, which also updated that “the threat posed to Germany by Islamist terrorism” is already at a very high level. “The threat facing Germany is sharp and serious,” Pazar warned in a speech to parliament.
The German government will also allow mass gatherings for the purpose of watching the games, and even suspend the laws prohibiting making noise after 10:00 PM, to allow joint viewing and celebrations in the streets.
The Israeli Mossad warned the authorities in Berlin
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz said this week that Germany has “a series of proven tools” to deal with terrorist threats, and that the police will place the issue “at the top of their priorities.” In recent months, alertness has been increased in Germany, for fear of acts of terrorism that will be carried out in support of the Hamas organization in Gaza. According to the reports, the Israeli “Mossad” warned the authorities in Berlin a few months ago of a planned attack by Hamas operatives in Germany or Scandinavia, and the terrorist operatives even collected weapons from a hiding place in a forest near Berlin, and were immediately arrested. According to the authorities’ data, there are approximately 27,480 people in Germany with “Islamist potential”, and of these approximately 483 are defined as a “possible threat”. Most of them are under some kind of surveillance, according to estimates.
One of the new technological uses in Germany at this year’s games, according to the German Police Association, will be the use of drones to monitor the situation and maintain order. Other countries have also used drones for this purpose in recent years. Belgium, which was on “high alert” last December, for fear of terrorist attacks that would take place in the Christmas markets, activated them regularly around the markets, to enable a quick response if necessary and to identify threats. Germany has also carried out experiments in recent months in sending emergency messages through mobile phones, in case of an attack or natural disaster.
The German Police Association clarified this week that it will focus not only on the protection of the spectators in the stadiums, but also on the protection of the thousands of people who are expected to gather in common viewing areas during the games. The soccer world cup games that took place in Germany in 2006 are still remembered as a social “turning point” in German national pride, as well as in the legitimization of flag waving, and as a national celebration.
Even before that, last week France raised its terror alertness to the highest possible level, in preparation for hosting the Olympics this summer (July 26 to September 11). Among other things, the French plan is to hold armed patrols in the streets of central cities until the Olympics, to demonstrate a presence in religious centers, airports and train stations. The police hold exercises to deal with scenarios of a terrorist attack or hostage taking.
“planned attacks on French soil as well”
French Prime Minister Gabriel Atal revealed this week that the extremist group that took responsibility for the attack in Moscow (ISIS in Khorasan) “had previously planned attacks on French soil as well.” The French police added about 4,000 soldiers to their ranks temporarily. One of the foci of tension in France is schools, after two terrorist incidents in the last two years, in which individual attackers, with an Islamist background, carried out terrorist attacks in them. According to the security services, an attack is only a question of ability, not intent. “Terrorist organizations opposed to the West will try to take advantage of the Olympics to act,” the head of the French internal security service told parliament.
Fears of Islamist violence are also at their peak in Malmö in southern Sweden, a city that has experienced a lot of tension in the past due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2009, violent clashes broke out in Malmö, a city where there are many immigrants, most of them from the Middle East and North Africa, surrounding the hosting of the Israeli delegation for the Davis Cup tennis matches.
In the last decade, the Jewish community in the city faced physical and verbal attacks in the street, most of them from immigrants and children of immigrants who are concentrated in a neighborhood called Rosengard on the outskirts of the city. A large part of it left the city. Malmö itself has known mass immigrant riots, and the police have been criticized for not entering the Rosengård neighborhood and not taking a strong enough hand against the riots.
Malmö will host the Eurovision Song Contest from May 7 to May 11, in which an Israeli delegation is expected to participate, and the city’s authorities are under significant pressure to allow a safe competition and maintain the safety of the Israeli visitors. According to the reports from Sweden, in recent years the Mossad has informed the authorities about several plans to harm Israelis or Jews, which were foiled with the help of the information and quick action. The fear is of riots by pro-Palestinian demonstrators that will get out of control – perhaps in protest of Israel’s participation in the European competition – or of a terrorist attack.
Immigrant criminal gangs may aid terrorism
Not only Israel is in the crosshairs: public cases of Koran burning by anti-Islamic activists in Sweden have provoked outrage in the Muslim world and threats of attacks. Two Swedish football fans were murdered in Brussels by a Muslim terrorist on this background last year.
In addition to this, in neighboring Sweden and Denmark there are criminal gangs of immigrants who may help organize terrorist attacks, as is suspected to have happened in Copenhagen, when the police arrested gang members from the Norbro area of the Danish capital, following intelligence information that apparently also came from Israel.
The alert level in Sweden was raised to 4 (out of five) about two months ago.
Two suspects of Afghan origin were arrested about a week ago in Germany, on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack on the Swedish parliament in protest of the burning of the Koran in the country.
For your attention: The Globes system strives for a diverse, relevant and respectful discourse in accordance with the code of ethics that appears in the trust report according to which we operate. Expressions of violence, racism, incitement or any other inappropriate discourse are filtered out automatically and will not be published on the site.