German authorities arrested three Hamas members on Wednesday on suspicion of planning “significant violent acts” against Israeli or Jewish institutions in the country. According to Germany’s federal prosecutor, the men are accused of helping acquire weapons and ammunition for the terror group, including a Kalashnikov rifle.
Two of the suspects are German citizens and the third was described as being born in Lebanon. Their names were released in partial form, as required by German law: Abd al-J., Wail P.M., and Ahmad A. “There is no place for hatred against Jews in Germany,” Justice Minister Steffi Hübig said.
Hamas, however, denied any link to the suspects. “These are baseless accusations,” the group said in a statement, claiming the arrests were meant to undermine German solidarity with the Palestinian people and what it called their “legitimate struggle against the Zionist occupation.” The group added that it “has always limited its armed struggle to Israel and the Palestinian territories, and will continue to do so.”
Meanwhile, panic broke out at Bavaria’s annual Oktoberfest after authorities briefly shut down the festival site over a suspected threat. Local police said the scare began when a 57-year-old man set fire to his parents’ nearby home during a family dispute, triggering an explosion that killed one person and injured several others. A handwritten note by the suspect contained a “non-explicit threat” against Oktoberfest, prompting police to evacuate the grounds and carry out a search.
Explosives were later found in the damaged house and in a backpack carried by the suspect, who apparently took his own life near a lake. The beer festival, which drew some 6.7 million visitors last year, reopened after several hours once police determined there was no danger.
The incident led to the evacuation of residents within 200 meters of the blast site, the closure of a nearby school, and a U.S. Embassy warning advising Americans to avoid the area. Police said they were also investigating an online post linking the case to the far-left group Antifa but gave no further details.