EU Commissioner Warns Europe Over Huge Risk of Terrorist Attacks During Christmas Holidays Due to War Between Israel & Hamas

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The 27 countries of the EU are at risk of possible terrorist attacks as the tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas continue.
• The attacks might especially happen during the Christmas holidays, as the situation regarding this war, even among European countries, is deteriorating.
• Many people across the EU have rallied pro-Palestanians in recent months, some pro-Israel and the rising anti-Semitism.

Europe might expect a “huge risk of terrorist attacks” in the upcoming days as the war between Israel and the Palestinian organization Hamas continues, the European Union’s home affairs commissioner has warned.

According to RFI, the EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson has especially warned that such illicit attacks can occur during the Chrismas holiday season.

With the war between Israel and Hamas and the polarization it causes in our society, with the upcoming holiday season, there is a huge risk of terrorist attacks in the European Union. 

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson

The warning followed the current investigations by French authorities regarding a fatal weekend attack near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The attacker, who reportedly swore allegiance to the extremist Islamic State group before the act, had stabbed to death a tourist and injured two others using a hammer.

During her statement, the EU Commissioner noted that such attacks as the one in Paris had occurred earlier as well. She provided no details about any information that might have prompted her warning. Her office did not immediately respond to requests for details.

So far, the war between Israel and Hamas has left thousands dead, and several European capitals have witnessed tens of thousands of people rally pro-Palestine but also march in support of Israel and against rising Semitism.

Johansson, whose brief includes security and immigration, said the European Commission will provide an additional €30 million to offer security in vulnerable areas across the bloc, notably at places where important religious sights and places of worship are located.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser sent her condolences to France and noted that the Paris attack highlights how serious the threat posed by Islamist terrorism in the EU is. The war in Gaza and Hamas’ terror are exacerbating this situation.

Our [EU] security agencies are working very closely together. We must keep a particularly close eye on the Islamist threats right now and take action against Islamist propaganda together with neighbouring countries. 

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser

Earlier this month, another terrorist attack in the French city of Aras was recorded. A man, who was a suspected Islamic radical, stabbed his former teacher to death and left another three people injured.

Three years ago, a similar situation happened when a radicalized Chechen national beheaded his teacher, Samuel Paty, at a school near Paris. France has raised its threat alert to the highest level as global tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas arise.