Updated 09.58 | Published 09.10
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full screen Israel’s embassy on Strandvägen. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT
Labeled as a terrorist, Hamas intended to attack Israel’s embassy in Stockholm, according to the Israeli government.
This is what we know about the data.
Why is the information coming now?
The new information comes from “continued intelligence work” after several arrests in Denmark and Germany in mid-December. In that work, information emerged about an attack on the embassy.
A man with connections to Sweden is singled out as a high-ranking member of “Hamas’ leadership structure for terrorist attacks abroad.” Sweden is also the only country mentioned as a target for Hamas’ plans in the post from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s account on X.
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Has Hamas acted in Sweden before?
Several experts say that it would represent a “trend break” if Israel’s information about Hamas’ plans is correct because Hamas has not acted outside the Middle East before.
– But with the terrorist cells in Germany and Denmark, we see a new situation. This is not something that will go away soon, it will only get worse, says terrorism researcher Magnus Ranstorp.
Aron Lund, Middle East analyst at the Total Defense Research Institute (FOI), is also on the same track.
– As far as I know, this is the first time Hamas members have been arrested for planning terrorist acts in Europe. The same applies to Hamas’s finances: then it is usually Iran, Qatar, Turkey and Sudan that are singled out as countries where a person or groups have been active.
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How do you know that what Israel says is true?
Israel and Palestine expert Anders Persson assesses the data as probable.
– I take the information seriously. There is no reason to distrust them, Israel and Sweden have good relations. It doesn’t surprise me that they aimed at Sweden. There is a long history of anti-Semitism in Malmö and when something happens in Denmark, you can wonder if it has something to do with Sweden, he says.
The Middle East analyst Aron Lund, on the other hand, thinks that the statement should be seen as a party submission from one of two parties in the war.
– I think it is wisest to wait and hear what the Swedish authorities have to say about this.
Walid Kilany, Hamas’s spokesperson in Lebanon, tells NRK that the movement has never carried out actions outside the Palestinian territories. He denies Israel’s accusations.
– They are trying to shift the focus from their attacks on the Gaza Strip, says Walid Kilany and claims that Israel’s information is about the ongoing trial in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, NRK reports.
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What does the Swedish government say?
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) did not want to comment on the information on Saturday evening, but referred to the Security Police (Säpo).
Säpo, in turn, did not want to comment on whether it has received information about plans for an attack on the Israeli embassy, nor whether it has been in contact with Israeli intelligence on the matter.
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What consequences can this have?
The foiled terror plans could mean a new chapter for the fight against terrorism in Europe, fears Anders Persson, Israel and Palestine expert.
– In the worst of all worlds, there could be a new phase in the war against terrorism. The Palestinian cause has many supporters in Europe and some of them are radical so you can recruit from those groups. It must also be remembered that there is a connection to criminal networks and it is something that security police in Europe have warned about for many years.
– Where Al-Qaeda was phase one and IS phase 2, Hamas constitutes phase three.