The very serious case of the arrest of four Palestinians who were allegedly preparing terrorist attacks in Cyprus has now taken on international dimensions.
The arrest of a 37-year-old compatriot in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, in the early hours of Saturday, who allegedly confessed to being a member of Hamas and that he had a close relationship with the first two (32-year-old and 38-year-old), refers to an organized terrorist network, which is being investigated as to whether it was preparing simultaneous attacks in Cyprus, Greece and other European countries.
The 37-year-old seems to have confessed that he was trained in the manufacture of explosives in a Hamas camp in Malaysia and that one of the arrested in Cyprus, with whom he was in contact, received similar training.
According to information from "F", the Cypriot authorities have been investigating for days information that the 38-year-old has received such training in Asia. As we wrote in a previous report, it was found that the person in question is in Cyprus illegally and is estimated to have succeeded in entering our country from the occupied territories.
His role, as well as that of the 32-year-old, who is legally in our country, are considered pivotal, since they are believed to be Hamas cells. The suspects seem to have undertaken the creation of explosives, through the admixture of chemicals, including ammonia nitrate, several of which they obtained from the Cypriot market.
It is recalled that the 32-year-old, who lived with his wife and child in an apartment in Kamares, Larnaca, allegedly admitted that they were preparing strikes in Cyprus on Israeli targets, in retaliation for what happened in the Gaza Strip. The 38-year-old, for his part, keeps his mouth tightly shut.
As for the other two, 54 and 57 years old, they are alleged to be collaborators of the first two and their role seems to have been peripheral. As our newspaper revealed, these are Palestinians, who have been on our island since the mid-1980s and hold, in fact, Cypriot citizenship.
The Police, together with cooperating services, continue to investigate the case with the contacts of the arrested under the microscope, in order to clarify whether they had other accomplices in Cyprus. The suspects will be brought before the Larnaca Court within the week and are expected to be referred to a direct trial before the Permanent Criminal Court, with both facing very serious charges of terrorism and participation in a criminal organization.
It is recalled that the first large quantity of explosive materials was found at the residence on the Governor's Coast on Thursday, May 21. Two days later, a second large quantity was found in a second-floor apartment building located in Kamares, which was being monitored. Both houses, according to the Police, were found to be connected to the 32-year-old.
"We were trained in Malaysia"
The Cypriot and Greek Police are in contact about the two cases, for which the authorities of other countries are also aware. Greek media report that the 37-year-old, who was arrested in Crete, had arrived in Greece on July 23, 2023 and after securing asylum he left for Germany. Last summer he returned to Greece and went to Crete to work as an electrician in a hotel. He reportedly went to Malaysia for training twice.
According to the Iefimerida website, the suspect reportedly said: "I am a member of Hamas. I do it for my country. I have contact with my compatriot who was arrested in Cyprus and I also knew the other one who was arrested. We were trained together in Malaysia in the manufacture of explosive devices with chemical liquids. I had taken dispensers and precision scales. I had ordered chemicals from the internet but did not receive them." The accused was prosecuted yesterday as a felony by the Athens Prosecutor's Office.
It is recalled that the suspect was arrested in the early hours of last Saturday in Agios Nikolaos by the Greek Intelligence Service, as part of an operation codenamed "Odin". In the searches carried out in houses in Crete and Athens, among other things, as announced by the Greek Police, a laboratory magnetic stirrer with a heated plate, as well as a laboratory-type precision analytical scale.
Although it was initially reported that his target was a specific cruise ship that would arrive in Crete today, in the end this was not confirmed by the Hellenic Police, whose spokesman said yesterday that the suspect's targets remain unknown.
The two terrorism cases also took on great proportions internationally, with some media in Israel linking them to an alleged planned terrorist act in Jerusalem. However, the issue concerns the Israeli government at the highest level, a fact that is also demonstrated by the relevant post of the Israeli Foreign Ministry on Sunday. "From Greece to Cyprus, the authorities continue to uncover activity linked to Hamas on European soil," he said.
