Police have arrested a 28-year-old Libyan for planning an anti-Semitic attack on Israel’s embassy in Berlin. The man may have had contact with the Islamic State.
A Libyan citizen who is said to have planned an attack on the Israeli embassy in Berlin was arrested in Bernau in Brandenburg on Saturday. The man is accused of supporting a “terrorist organization abroad,” a spokesman for the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office announced in the evening.
According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, two apartments in Bernau and the Rhein-Sieg district were searched in this context. It is suspected that he is a supporter of the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS).
The suspect is to be brought before an investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) today. It was initially unclear when exactly the Libyan would come to Karlsruhe. The investigating judge must clarify whether the man will be taken into custody.
The embassy confirmed that there was a plan to attack the diplomatic mission. The “Bild” newspaper first reported on the arrest of a 28-year-old on Saturday in Bernau near Berlin on the northern edge of the capital. How close his ties to the Islamic State (IS) were is not known – at least publicly.
Apartment searches in North Rhine-Westphalia
The accused’s apartment in Bernau was searched, a spokesman for the Federal Prosecutor’s Office said. In the Rhein-Sieg district in North Rhine-Westphalia, emergency services also searched an apartment belonging to a person who was not a suspect. The spokesman told “Bild” that in Sankt Augustin near Bonn only witnesses were questioned and possible evidence was secured.
According to “Bild” information, the German authorities tracked down the man thanks to a specific tip from foreign intelligence services. The target of the attack plans was the Israeli embassy in Berlin. It is still unclear whether weapons or explosives were to be used in the attack, wrote “Bild”. There were indications that the suspect wanted to flee to a relative in St. Augustin after the attack and then go abroad. This relative is currently not considered a suspect, but rather a witness.
Ambassador in Berlin: “Muslim anti-Semitism promotes terrorism”
Israel’s ambassador Ron Prosor thanked the German security authorities “for ensuring the security of our embassy.” “Muslim anti-Semitism is not limited to hateful rhetoric, but promotes global terrorism,” said Prosor. “Israeli embassy staff are particularly at risk because they are on the front lines of diplomacy.”
The State of Israel acquired the property including a villa on Auguste-Viktoria-Strasse in southwest Berlin in 1998. The embassy and the ambassador’s residence were inaugurated on May 9, 2001, the 53rd Independence Day of the State of Israel, in the presence of the then Foreign Minister and later President Shimon Peres.
Anti-Semitism is increasing in Germany
After the terrorist attack on Israel by Islamist terrorists on October 7, 2023, a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents was also recorded in Germany. “The inhibition threshold for calling for and carrying out violence against Jews is decreasing,” said the President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, at the beginning of October.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) told “Bild” on Saturday evening that the security of Jewish institutions was the top priority. “This attack today was a success – but at the same time it was a warning to those people who want to threaten Jewish life in Germany: We are on your trail!”
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office is responsible, among other things, for acts of Islamist-motivated terrorism. Federal Attorney General Jens Rommel identified this as one of the main dangers for Germany in his office’s annual review. According to Rommel, of the more than 700 investigations initiated last year in the area of terrorism and state security, almost 500 concerned Islamist terrorism.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
