An attempted attack on a Jewish institution in the Netherlands was thwarted, police said, after two teenagers were arrested and suspected explosive materials were found near the site.
According to Dutch authorities, the incident took place in Heemstede, west of Amsterdam, at around 1:15 a.m. between Thursday and Friday last week. Officers noticed two youths behaving suspiciously near the compound and detained them at the scene. The suspects, aged 14 and 17 and residents of Amsterdam, were later arrested.
Police said the materials, believed to be explosives, were discovered near a Chabad House operating in a building associated with a Jewish school. Investigators are still examining the substances and whether they are directly linked to the suspects.
Detectives had been monitoring the building in recent weeks, partly due to previous attempts to target Jewish institutions in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Authorities said that early surveillance likely led to the arrests and prevented the attack.
“We found suspicious materials in the area and are examining their nature,” North Holland police said in a statement.
The suspects’ detention has been extended by two weeks. Prosecutors said “swift police action” helped foil the incident, but declined to provide further details due to the sensitivity of the investigation.
The incident comes amid a series of recent threats against Jewish institutions across the Netherlands, including attempted attacks on a synagogue in Rotterdam and a religious school in Amsterdam. A group calling itself “Al-Yamin al-Islamiya” has claimed responsibility for some of the incidents.
The European Jewish Congress said the discovery of suspected explosives near a Jewish site is “deeply alarming” and underscores the ongoing threat to Jewish communities in Europe. The organization said the attack’s prevention likely averted serious consequences and called for increased security, intelligence cooperation and action against networks behind such plots.