German authorities have arrested a Libyan man suspected of planning an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Berlin. The suspect, identified only as Omar A. due to Germany’s privacy laws, was detained on Saturday in Bernau, Brandenburg, just outside the capital. He is alleged to have ties to the Islamic State (IS) militant group and was planning to use firearms in the attack.
The arrest took place during a raid by a heavily armed police unit in a Berlin suburb. The suspect was set to appear before Germany’s Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe on Sunday, where a judge will decide whether he should be held in custody during the investigation.
According to prosecutors, Omar A. had been exchanging information with an IS member via messenger chat to plan the attack. German media reports suggest that authorities were alerted to the plot by a foreign intelligence service. The suspect allegedly planned to travel to a relative near Bonn before fleeing the country after the attack.
In response to the arrest, German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann warned of a “very serious” Islamist terror threat in Germany, noting that Israeli institutions are often targeted. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser emphasized the importance of protecting Jewish and Israeli institutions in Germany, stating that law enforcement is acting with “utmost vigilance” to prevent suspected Islamist, anti-Semitic, and anti-Israel violence.
Israeli Ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, thanked German authorities for “guaranteeing the security of our embassy.” He highlighted the particular danger faced by embassy employees, describing them as being “on the front line of diplomacy.”
The incident occurs against a backdrop of increased anti-Semitic incidents and crimes in Germany since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent Israeli retaliation in Gaza and Lebanon. German authorities have recorded a sharp rise in such incidents, underscoring the heightened security concerns for Jewish and Israeli institutions in the country.
dw.com
