Baden-Württemberg Planned attack with firearms on Israel's embassy

The suspected IS supporter arrested in Bernau near Berlin was planning an attack with firearms on the Israeli embassy in Berlin. The Libyan Omar A. is accused of being a supporter of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS), the federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe announced. He had been planning to carry out "a high-profile attack with firearms on the Israeli embassy in Berlin" since October 2024 at the latest. "To plan the project, the accused exchanged information with a member of IS in a messenger chat."

The accused will be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice today, who will then decide whether to remand him in custody. The Libyan was arrested in Bernau on Saturday evening. His apartment and another apartment in the Rhine-Sieg district of North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to a person not suspected of the crime were searched. According to the statement, forces from the Federal Police, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the responsible state police were involved in the measures.

Buschmann warns of "very serious" terror threat

Following the arrest, Justice Minister Marco Buschmann warns of a "very serious" Islamist terror threat in Germany. "Israeli facilities are particularly frequently targeted by terrorists," he told the German Press Agency. "The protection of Israeli institutions in Germany is particularly important in these times when fanatical hatred of Israel and anti-Semitism are on the rise worldwide - and Islamist terrorism is gaining more and more followers." They will continue to "do everything in their power to ensure that the dangerous plans of Israel haters and anti-Semites do not succeed".

According to Bild, the German authorities had tracked down the man following a specific tip-off from foreign intelligence services. There had been indications that the suspect wanted to flee to a relative in Sankt Augustin after the attack and then go abroad. This relative is currently not considered a suspect, but a witness.

Thanks to the Israeli ambassador

Israel's ambassador Ron Prosor thanked the German security authorities "for ensuring the security of our embassy". "Muslim anti-Semitism is not limited to hateful rhetoric, but promotes global terrorism," Prosor told dpa. "The employees of the Israeli embassy are particularly at risk because they are on the front line of diplomacy."

The State of Israel acquired the property, including a villa in Auguste-Viktoria-Strasse in south-west Berlin, in 1998. The embassy and the ambassador's residence were inaugurated on May 9, 2001, the 53rd Independence Day of the State of Israel, in the presence of the then Foreign Minister and later President Shimon Peres.

Since the terrorist attack by Islamist terrorists on Israel on October 7, 2023, a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents has been recorded in Germany.