A major counter-terrorism operation has uncovered deep links between a Hamas cell in Cyprus and a 37-year-old Palestinian man arrested in Crete. The Greek National Intelligence Service (EYP) and anti-terror police caught the man in Crete following the arrest of four Palestinians in Cyprus in late May.
The suspect faces terrorism charges and appeared before a prosecutor in Agios Nikolaos. Authorities will transfer him to Athens on Monday.
The 37-year-old trained at a Hamas camp in Malaysia, a known training hub for terror groups, according to protothema.gr. Two Hamas members arrested in Cyprus trained at the exact same camp. Police caught the two suspects in Cyprus just as they were picking up a package containing components to build an explosive device. Their arrest gave investigators the breakthrough that led them to the suspect in Crete.
During a 12-hour interrogation, the 37-year-old admitted he wanted to launch an attack for Hamas. Investigators believe the cell planned a large-scale strike to put Hamas back on the global terror map, likely targeting Israeli interests or a cruise ship.
Intelligence sources said the suspect learned how to build synthetic explosives using standard, over-the-counter chemicals. Police searched his flat in Patisia, Athens, and found the tools he needed to build a bomb, though he had not yet picked up the chemical ingredients. Investigators believe he was due to receive them shortly. The suspect has a family inside the Gaza Strip and faces felony terrorism charges.
Meanwhile, police and intelligence agencies in Cyprus are running a highly secretive investigation into the four Palestinian suspects. Authorities believe they planned to attack Israeli targets in Cyprus to retaliate for the genocide in Gaza.
A 32-year-old man and a 38-year-old man are in custody after being linked to large amounts of bomb-making materials. Police also arrested a 54-year-old man and a 57-year-old man who are suspected accomplices. The two older suspects have lived in Cyprus for many years and hold Cypriot citizenship, a fact that has seriously alarmed the authorities as they dig into their past and contacts. A Larnaca court extended the detention of the 54-year-old and 57-year-old suspects for five days during a closed-door hearing.
In a separate closed-door hearing, a court extended the detention of the other two Palestinian suspects for four days on terrorism and organised crime charges. One of them admitted they targeted Israelis but did not name the specific locations.
Investigators believe the 32-year-old and 38-year-old played a central role in the plot and are checking if they worked with anyone else in Cyprus. The 32-year-old lived in Cyprus for the last few years and is linked to a house at Governor’s Beach and a flat in Kamares, Larnaca, where he lived with his family. Police found bomb-making materials, including ammonium nitrate, at both properties. Investigators believe they bought these chemicals from the local Cypriot market. The 38-year-old is also linked to the chemicals. He lived in Cyprus illegally after crossing from the north.
Police found the first large cache of bomb-making materials at the Governor’s Beach house on Thursday, 21 May. Two days later, officers watching a second-floor flat in Kamares found a second large cache. Sources said all the materials have been sent for specialist forensic analysis, which should be completed within the next few days.