Masked German police officers arrive at an address in Berlin during an operation targeting alleged Hamas terrorists. Photo: Reuters/Paul Zinken

Seven alleged Hamas suspects were arrested on Thursday during police operations in Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands as they planned terrorist attacks against Jewish targets in Europe.

Three of the suspects were arrested in Berlin after they collected weapons from a depot, according to a statement from the office of Germany’s Federal Prosecutor General. A fourth man was arrested in the Dutch city of Rotterdam and will be extradited to Karlsruhe in Germany, where all four will appear before a federal judge who will decide whether to detain them ahead of their trial. In addition to the arrests, police in Berlin also carried out searches of five apartments and a restaurant.

The remaining three men were arrested in Copenhagen, according to a statement from Denmark’s PET security agency. Chief Inspector Flemming Drejer of the Danish police said the three would be charged with terror offenses.

It is not clear whether the operations were linked, although the Dutch citizen arrested in Rotterdam in relation to the German inquiry may also be connected to the Danish investigation, the BBC reported, quoting Danish authorities.

German authorities named the four men detained in Karslruhe as Abdelhamid Al A., Mohamed B., Ibrahim El-R., and Nazih R. All of them are said to be closely linked to the Al Qassam Brigades of Hamas, which played a key role in planning and executing the Oct. 7 pogrom in southern Israel in which over 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 seized as hostages.

According to the German news outlet taggesschau, Abdelhamid Al A. arrived in Germany earlier this year, tasked with setting up a weapons depot on behalf of Hamas on the instructions of Hamas leaders in Lebanon. Both he, Mohamed B., and Nazih R. were reported to have visited the depot several times during October, in the wake of the atrocities in Israel.

Germany’s Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann praised the operation, which he characterized as a “contribution to ensuring that Jews in Europe can continue to live in security and peace.”

He added: “We must do everything we can to ensure that Jews in our country do not have to fear for their safety again.”

German analysts noted that attacks on Jews in Germany would mark a radical departure for Hamas, which has historically used the country as a base for propaganda and fundraising. Two associations raising donations for Hamas were closed down in 2002 and 2005 respectively, while in the weeks since the Oct. 7 pogrom, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has banned pro-Hamas organizations that include Samidoun, which bills itself as a solidarity organization with Palestinian prisoners and remains active in North America.

According to the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, around 450 members of Hamas are thought to be active in the country.

Following the arrests in Copenhagen, a public menorah lighting ceremony to mark the final night of the Hanukkah festival was canceled.

Chabad Denmark, which organized the event in the Danish capital’s City Hall Square, said that they had been advised by police to cancel the menorah lighting. Rabbi Yitzi Loewenthal said he had been advised by police that holding such a ceremony outdoors was a grave risk, given the “security situation.”

Loewenthal told the Danish news outlet kosmopol that he would still light the menorah’s candles in the square on Thursday evening, but that he would do so “without an audience.” He urged the Jewish community to remain vigilant but not to live in fear, “because that’s what those who sow terror want.”