Greek special forces arrested a 37-year-old Egyptian man of Palestinian origin in Athens after finding chemicals, a prec...

Greek special forces arrested a 37-year-old Egyptian man of Palestinian origin in Athens after finding chemicals, a precision scale and bomb-making equipment inside his apartment. The suspect, identified by local media as Motasem, was allegedly preparing to attack an Israeli cruise ship that regularly docks in Greece. According to a major investigation by Switzerland's Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the Athens arrest is part of a Hamas terrorist network that has been quietly building across Europe since at least 2019. The network spans Germany, Austria, Denmark, Britain, Poland, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece, with weapons caches, sleeper cells and bomb-making capabilities positioned across the continent. Investigators believe the Greek-Cypriot cell sent Motasem and another Palestinian suspect through Switzerland, Qatar and Indonesia to Malaysia in 2025, where they received bomb-making training. Authorities say the network had selected October 7, 2025, the second anniversary of the Hamas massacre in Israel, as its target date for attacks. The wider network transported at least 13 handguns, an AK-47 and more than 900 rounds of ammunition across Scandinavia, Germany and Austria. In February 2023, eight months before October 7, Hamas officials in Lebanon ordered the German cell to begin preparing attacks against Jewish, Israeli or American targets. Suspects under surveillance at the time reportedly reconnoitered Ramstein Air Base, the Israeli Embassy in Berlin and Tempelhofer Feld. Germany's federal prosecutor has ordered the arrests of nine men since October 2025. Investigators believe the entire European operation was directed by Hamas commanders in Lebanon, including senior military figure Khalil al-Kharraz, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2023. Multiple members of the German cell were filmed attending his funeral in Lebanon. #Hamas #Greece #EuropeanSecurity