Seven suspects were arrested for alleged plans to conduct a terror attack had links to Hamas, European officials confirmed, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the Associated Press (AP) reported on Friday.
Little information on the case was made public knowledge until prosecutor Anders Larsson broke the silence.
”The investigation has provided information that, according to the police, the case has links to Hamas,” Larsson said during a custody hearing before an appeals court, according to broadcaster TV2, cited by AP. “That information is no longer necessary to keep secret.”
Denmark’s police also confirmed on Friday that three suspects, along with four others arrested throughout Europe, have been connected to Hamas, AFP reported.
Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said Friday, according to AFP, that the alleged connection to Hamas "confirms that the threat against Denmark is serious, but luckily we have a strong police and intelligence service doing their best to protect us every day."
Three of the suspects held in connection to the case were arrested on December 14, and a fourth was arrested in the Netherlands. At the same time, three more Hamas-linked suspects were arrested in Germany.
Dutch national Nazih R was arrested by police in Rotterdam, while Lebanon-born Abdelhamid Al A and Ibrahim El-R, as well as Egyptian national Mohamed B, were arrested in the German capital, Reuters reported.
Abdelhamid Al A had been tasked by Hamas leaders in Lebanon with sourcing weapons. The weapons were due to be taken to Berlin and kept at the ready for potential terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions, said prosecutors.
Denmark currently has its terror threat level set to "serious," the second-highest out of five.
In response to increased antisemitic threats, Denmark had ordered its military to protect Jewish and Israeli sites in early December, deploying soldiers to guard both Israel's embassy and Copenhagen's synagogue.
"The terrorist threat against Denmark is serious," the country's justice minister, Peter Hummelgaard, said at the time. "And the conflict in the Middle East has led to a completely unacceptable rise in antisemitism and more uncertainty among Jews in Denmark."
Hamas involvement was suspected
In December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the attacks had been orchestrated by Hamas, stating that Denmark's security forces had "thwarted an attack, the goal of which was to kill innocent civilians on European soil.
"The Hamas terrorist organization has been working relentlessly and exhaustively to expand its lethal operations to Europe, and thereby constitute a threat to the domestic security of these countries."
"In recent years, and even more so after the murderous attack on October 7, Hamas strives to expand its operational capabilities around the world, and in Europe in particular," Israeli authorities said, "to realize its ambitions to strike Israeli, Jewish, and Western targets at any cost."
More information can be anticipated in the coming weeks.
Reuters contributed to this report.