Hamas Operative Granted UK Citizenship, Plotted Terror Attack

A former bodyguard of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh received political asylum and British citizenship in the UK while secretly planning a large-scale terror attack against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe, according to a report by the British newspaper The Sunday Times. The operative, identified only as "X" due to legal restrictions, is the son of a senior Hamas official.

"X" served in Haniyeh's security detail from 2006. He was arrested in Egypt between 2009 and 2012 for alleged involvement in smuggling tunnels and left Gaza in 2012. Despite his Hamas background, he was granted refugee status in the UK in 2015, eventually settling there with his family and obtaining full British citizenship.

The terror plot was thwarted in November following intelligence shared by Israel's Mossad and German intelligence services. "X" had planned to attack Jewish community centers, Israeli diplomats, and pro-Israel events in Germany or Austria, timed for the second anniversary of the October 7th massacre. He reportedly used his British passport to travel to Qatar and Turkey to meet with Hamas officials.

An investigation involving security agencies from the UK, Germany, Austria, and Denmark led to the arrest of seven suspects and the seizure of weapons, including Kalashnikov rifles, handguns, and ammunition. Court documents obtained by the German newspaper Bild reveal that "X" personally transported five handguns from Berlin to Vienna in July 2025, and later acquired dozens more firearms with accomplices. He also recorded a video, masked and armed, vowing revenge.