A former bodyguard of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was found guilty by a court in Birmingham of a knife attack, while German authorities accuse him of preparing attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets in Germany and Austria.
Mohamed Alfatih, also known as Mohamed Naim, was convicted of causing bodily harm, unlawful possession of two knives and criminal damage. He was acquitted of the more serious charge of causing bodily harm with intent. His sentence will be determined at a later stage.
The allegations in Germany
German prosecutors claim that 40-year-old Alfatih was a senior external operative for Hamas with a direct link to the organisation’s political bureau leadership circle. According to the indictment, he organised a plan for attacks that were supposed to be carried out around the second anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
The alleged targets included Israeli diplomats, Jewish community centres and events in support of Israel. The plan was foiled after information was provided by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, and German authorities detained seven other suspected participants.
The German indictment alleges that on 28 July last year Alfatih received five weapons in Berlin’s Hasenheide park, after which he transported them to Vienna. The weapons were hidden in a storage room together with a scarf, hat and gloves intended as disguises.
According to prosecutors, British police found a memory card and a pre-recorded video on a computer. In it, a masked man threatens to send a “message in blood” and speaks of revenge over the war in Gaza. Authorities claim that the recording was intended for publication after the attack.
Asylum, citizenship and the case in Birmingham
Before settling in the UK, Alfatih was photographed working as Ismail Haniyeh’s bodyguard. He is the son of senior Hamas official Bassem Naim. According to information cited by the Daily Mail, Alfatih entered the UK in a lorry in 2014, was granted asylum in 2015 and became a British citizen in 2020.
He was arrested in connection with the German arrest warrant while he was in custody for attacking an officer who had gone to his home in Birmingham over unpaid parking fines. During the trial, the court saw footage of Alfatih holding knives and attacking the officer’s vehicle.
Prosecutor Matthew Brooke told the court that the defendant’s phones contained “various materials related to Hamas”. Court documents also discussed photographs showing Alfatih presented as a bodyguard of the organisation’s then-leader.
Former British minister Zac Goldsmith said: “This needs to be investigated thoroughly so that we can understand exactly how this and so many similar decisions were made.”
Extradition proceedings to Germany have been suspended until the British case is concluded. If the court authorises his surrender, Alfatih is expected to serve his sentence in the UK first before being sent to Germany.
Sources: dailymail.com, theguardian.com, news.sky.com