- EU warns of terror
- Israel-Hamas impact on violence
- Increased security measures
A senior EU official has stated that the traveling public faces a “huge risk of terrorist attacks in the European Union” during the upcoming holiday season.
Ylva Johansson, commissioner for European home affairs, stated that the societal polarization brought about by the Israel-Hamas conflict increased the likelihood of violence.
Her remark was made in the days following the fatal stabbing of a tourist in Paris.
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For additional security, the EU is providing an additional €30 million (£26 million), according to Ms. Johansson.
She refrained from specifying whether any particular information prompted the warning.
“Unfortunately, we have seen it earlier as well,” she continued before a meeting of EU interior ministers. “We only recently saw it in Paris.”
Heightened Alert in Germany
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser issued a comparable admonition, instructing reporters that the European Union must closely monitor threats and propaganda due to the significant “risk of further emotionalization and radicalization of violent Islamist perpetrators.”
Hate crimes have increased in several European nations since Hamas militants stormed Israeli communities, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the captivity of many others in Gaza.
Since Israel invaded Gaza, more than 15,000 people have been killed, according to the health ministry, which Hamas operates.
Collin B, a 23-year-old German tourist, was stabbed to death near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday. Additionally, his girlfriend and a British tourist were injured in the incident. In the aftermath, EU ministers convened.
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Before the assault, the youthful German couple had embarked on an excursion to Disneyland Paris and the Louvre and shared selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Police said 26-year-old French suspect Armand R., from a nonreligious Iranian family, professed allegiance to ISIS.
The suspect was jailed in La Défense, near Paris, for plotting terrorism before his arrest.
He was questioned by French authorities in 2020 about his communications with Samuel Paty’s assailant, Abdoullakh Anzorov.
Jean-Francois Ricard, an anti-terrorism prosecutor, stated that Armand R’s mother had expressed concern regarding his conduct despite the absence of evidence to support any additional prosecution.
Additionally, Germany has been on high alert for a potential attack.
Last week, two young individuals were apprehended in separate regions. They were suspected of plotting an Islamist militant assault on a Christmas market in Leverkusen.
A 20-year-old Iraqi national entered Germany the previous year. He is currently under arrest on suspicion of preparing a knife-wielding assault at a Hannover Christmas market.
According to Stephan Kramer, the head of German domestic intelligence in the eastern state of Thuringia, Hamas sympathizers pose a “considerable potential for danger” not only to Christmas markets but also to major sporting events, including the 2024 Euro football championships and the Paris Olympics.
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