The trial begins in Germany for 4 alleged members of Hamas accused of looking for cache in Europe

SEDAN – A trial began on Tuesday in Germany for four Alleged Hamas members suspected of organizing cache in Europe.

The country’s main prosecutor accuses men of membership in a foreign terrorist organization. It is a pilot case for prosecutors, DPA of the German news agency reported.

“For the first time in Germany, people face positions of participating as members of the foreign terrorist organization Hamas,” said prosecutor Jochen Weingarten, according to DPA.

Men are accused of looking for some deposits of established weapons years, in addition to establishing new ones, for the militant group throughout Europe so that militants could use firearms and ammunition for attacks against attacks Israeli and Jewish objectives In the continent, prosecutors said when presenting charges last year.

Weapons were supposedly transferred by Europe in preparation for Hamas attack against Israel On October 7, 2023, prosecutors said. Around 1,200 peoplemostly civilians were killed in that attack and about 250 hostages.

The attack shot Israel’s air and land offensive in Gazawhich has killed more than 48,200 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The ministry says that more than half of the dead have been women and children.

Hamas also considered attacking the Israeli embassy In BerlinThe area around the Tempelhof airport in the capital and the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the authorities said.

Abdelhamid al A., Mohamed B., Nazih R. and Ibrahim el-r. They were arrested in December 2023. Prosecutors identified them only by their first name and the last initial in line with German privacy laws.

The four had important positions within Hamas, prosecutors said.

The men allegedly established a cache of weapons in Bulgaria in 2019 and in Denmark Later that year. They sought to find a place in PolandBut they were not successful, prosecutors said.