BERLIN
\nGermany\u2019s domestic intelligence chief warned Friday that the anniversary of the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel could be a \u201ctrigger event\u201d for unrest. Next Monday marks one year since the attack by the Palestinian Islamist militant group that sparked Israel\u2019s invasion of Gaza and conflict with Hamas allies in Lebanon, Iran and elsewhere.
\nMiddle East turmoil tends to spark reactions in Germany, warned Thomas Haldenwang, chief of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV).
\nAnti-Semitism and hostility toward Israel are a \u201cconnecting element\u201d between Islamists, pro-Palestinian extremists and other radical groups on the far right and far left, he said.
\n\u201cThe anniversary could be a trigger event for large parts of the protest spectrum,\u201d he said, warning of a \u201cgreat potential for emotionalization, polarization and radicalization.\u201d
\nAside from official commemorations of the October 7 attack, a number of pro-Palestinian demonstrations are planned in Germany at the weekend and on Monday.
\nIn Berlin, police union spokesman Benjamin Jedro said that \u201cwe are looking at the coming days with great concern\u201d after witnessing \u201chatred, anti-Semitism and violent excesses\u201d by some pro-Palestinian activists.
\nHaldenwang in his statement pointed out that the number of anti-Semitic crimes had risen to an all-time high since the Gaza war started.
\n\u201cThe potential danger of possible terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions, as well as against \u2018the West\u2019 as a whole, has increased significantly in the past six months.\u201d
\nHaldenwang reiterated his warning against jihadist attacks, pointing to a deadly stabbing spree in the western city of Solingen last month.
\n\u201cIslamists have understood how to use the current Middle East crisis to revitalize their propaganda and mobilize their followers,\u201d he said.
\nThe Daesh group is \u201cusing its propaganda to use the situation in Gaza to create emotions and encourage young Muslims in the West in particular to carry out terrorist attacks.\u201d
\nThe October 7 Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
\nIsrael\u2019s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 41,788 people, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory\u2019s health ministry. The United Nations has described the figures as reliable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN Germany\u2019s domestic intelligence chief warned Friday that the anniversary of the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel could be a \u201ctrigger event\u201d for unrest. Next Monday marks one year since the attack by the Palestinian Islamist militant group that sparked Israel\u2019s invasion of Gaza and conflict with Hamas allies in Lebanon, Iran and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-435398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n