Officials of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Directorate for Combating Special Violent Crimes proceeded to arrest a 37-year-old man of Palestinian origin yesterday afternoon, in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, as part of an investigation into terrorist activity and possible connections with persons who have recently occupied the Cypriot authorities.
According to information, the 37-year-old, originally from the Gaza Strip, is accused of being a member of the terrorist organization Hamas, as well as of training and traveling, in order to support terrorist acts. According to the same information, he was planning an attack on Israeli targets, possibly with explosives on a cruise ship.
According to information from Cretalive, the 37-year-old had been living in the area of Agios Nikolaos for the last almost two years and worked in a hotel unit. He had no family in Crete and, according to information from local sources, kept a low profile. It is noted that the 37-year-old is legally in the country.
The authorities arrived at his arrest, using information from Cyprus, where there have recently been arrests for cases related to the terrorist activity of Hamas in Jerusalem (bombings). The information states that during the investigation, a phone allegedly functioned as a connecting element emerged and thus led the investigations of the competent services as far as Crete and in particular in Agios Nikolaos.
The operation was organized after the use of information and coordination between the EYP and the Counter-Terrorism Service.
According to the same information, the 37-year-old allegedly admitted that he had contacts with other persons and participated in actions aimed at creating the appropriate conditions and mechanisms for the implementation of a terrorist attack on Israeli targets in a European country.
As it turns out, he was still in the preparation stage and did not have the necessary means to move on to the next phase. Authorities estimate that the target could be a cruise ship, however the plan had not gone beyond the stage of gathering materials.
In fact, he had allegedly already ordered some of the materials that would be used, but without having time to use them.
As part of the investigation, searches were carried out in houses in Crete and Athens, where the authorities located and confiscated mobile phones, a laptop, data storage media, bank cards, as well as laboratory equipment.
The findings are expected to be examined in the special laboratories of the Police.
The 37-year-old, who was alone at the time of the arrest, is expected to be brought before the competent prosecutor. Investigations are in full swing, in order to ascertain the scope of its activities and all its collaborations and connections inside and outside Greece.
protothema.gr
The developments in relation to the terrorism case that was revealed at the end of May in Cyprus are rapid and very worrying. After the arrest of 4 Palestinians in Cyprus, the Greek authorities proceeded to arrest a 37-year-old Palestinian in Crete, who was allegedly preparing terrorist attacks.
The 37-year-old was arrested in Crete in an operation by the National Intelligence Service and the Counter-Terrorism Unit and is accused of being a member of Hamas. Today he will be taken to the prosecutor's office in Agios Nikolaos and tomorrow, Monday, he will be transferred to Athens.
According to the latest information from protothema.gr, the 37-year-old had been trained in a Hamas camp in Malaysia, one of the countries preferred by terrorist organizations for "lessons".
In fact, according to the same information, the two members of Hamas who have been arrested in Cyprus were also in the same camp and were the end of the thread that led to the 37-year-old. According to ERT, the two Palestinians in Cyprus were allegedly the leading members of the group with joint training and three from Hamas in the manufacture of explosives. It is noted that the two who were arrested in Cyprus were located at the time they were receiving a package for the manufacture of an explosive device.
According to the same information, the 37-year-old has admitted, during his 12-hour interrogation, that he wanted to carry out a strike on behalf of Hamas, with the assessment being that they were planning something "big" to put the Palestinian terrorist organization back on the map.
The target is estimated to be an Israeli and probably a cruise ship.
Competent sources convey that the 37-year-old had been trained to make synthetic explosives with chemical solvents, that is, objects that can be found in the public trade.
The same sources clarify, however, that in the 37-year-old's apartment in Patissia, the tools he would use to make the explosives were found as he had not yet received the necessary materials, which is estimated to happen in the near future.
The 37-year-old, who had family inside the Gaza Strip, will be charged with a felony based on the articles on terrorism cases.
Developments are also running in Cyprus
In Cyprus, the investigations of the Police and cooperating services continue, in complete secrecy, in relation to the very serious case of the arrest of four people from Palestine, who are suspected of terrorism. The suspects are believed to have been preparing terrorist attacks in Cyprus on targets linked to Israelis, in retaliation for what happened in the Gaza Strip.
A 32-year-old and a 38-year-old man are in custody, who seem to have been linked to large quantities of explosives materials, as well as a 54-year-old and a 57-year-old man who are alleged to be their associates. Information from "F" states that the last two, who were arrested last week, have been in our country for many years, a fact that has caused particular concern to the authorities, who are looking into their past and contacts. It seems, in fact, that the two have also secured Cypriot citizenship. The 54-year-old and the 57-year-old were brought before the Larnaca District Court yesterday, where in a closed-door procedure, their detention order was renewed for another five days.
Today, in a separate process, which was also held behind closed doors, the renewal of the detention of the other two Palestinians, who face offenses of terrorism and participation in a criminal organization, was requested for the second time. The two were detained for four days. It is recalled that one of them allegedly admitted that the target would be Israelis, without, however, clarifying where the blows would take place.
The 32-year-old and the 38-year-old, however, are said to have had a key role in the case and it is being investigated whether they were also working with other people in Cyprus. The 32-year-old, who has been living in our country for the last few years, has been connected to both the house on the Governor's Coast, and an apartment in Kamares, Larnaca, where he lived with his family. Explosive materials were found in the two houses, including ammonia nitrate. These are chemicals, which may come from the Cypriot market. The 38-year-old, who resided illegally in Cyprus and is estimated to have managed to enter the territory of the Republic from the occupied territories, seems to have been connected to them.
The first large quantity of explosive materials was found at the residence on 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. All the found items have been sent for specialized scientific examinations, which are expected to be completed within the next few days, according to a competent source.
