Official warns of severe terrorism risk in Europe over Christmas amid Israel-Hamas war
BRUSSELS — Europe faces a “huge risk of terrorist attacks” over the Christmas holiday period because of the fallout from the war between Israel and Hamas, the European Union’s home affairs commissioner warned Tuesday.
The warning came as French investigators continued to investigate a fatal weekend attack near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Questions were raised about the mental health of the suspect, who swore allegiance to the extremist Islamic State group before stabbing a German Filipino tourist to death and injuring two other people with a hammer.
“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 told reporters.
“We saw [it happening] recently in Paris. Unfortunately, we have seen it earlier as well,” she said, as EU interior ministers gathered in Brussels. She provided no details about any information that might have prompted her warning. Her office did not immediately respond to requests for details.
French police say a teacher was killed and two other adults were wounded in a stabbing at a school in the northern city of Arras.
Johansson, whose brief includes security and immigration, said that the European Commission would provide an additional $32.5 million to help bolster security in vulnerable areas, notably places of worship.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser sent her condolences to France over the attack and said it highlighted “just how acute and how serious the threat posed by Islamist terrorism is currently in the EU.”
“The war in Gaza and Hamas’ terror are exacerbating this situation,” she told reporters.
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