Greek police arrest Palestinian man accused of helping Hamas plan attack on Israelis

Greek police announced Sunday that they had arrested a Palestinian man on suspicion of acting as an agent of Hamas and planning a terrorist attack. Greek media reports have speculated that the intended target was an Israeli cruise ship scheduled to arrive on the island of Crete on Tuesday.

The arrest comes amid longstanding concerns about attacks against Israeli targets in Greece, where Palestinian terrorist groups have carried out several high-profile operations over the past decades.

Subsequent media reports identified the suspect as a 37-year-old hotel employee in the city of Agios Nikolaos on Crete. Authorities, however, believe his employment may have served as a cover for other activities.

“According to the information we have at this stage, he was connected to several people recently arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of terrorist activity and received training from Hamas,” a police statement said.

According to reports by Greek state broadcaster ERT, a search of an apartment the suspect previously occupied in central Athens uncovered equipment and materials that could be used to manufacture explosives, including precision scales, liquid measuring tools and chemical reagents.

Investigators also seized bank cards, laptop computers, data storage devices and other evidence as part of the ongoing inquiry.

Police have said that further arrests related to the case cannot be ruled out.

The suspect reportedly arrived in Greece from the Gaza Strip two years ago and was granted asylum by Greek authorities. He is not known to have family in Greece, and some media reports speculated that Hamas may have used threats against relatives in Gaza to recruit him.

The case has also renewed attention to a history of attacks by Palestinian terrorist organizations against Israeli and Jewish targets on Greek soil.

In December 1968, two terrorists from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) fired small arms and threw grenades at El Al Flight 253 as it prepared to depart from Hellinikon International Airport in Athens. One passenger was killed and two others were wounded before the attackers were arrested by the police.

Less than a year later, in November 1969, two members of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front attacked the El Al offices at the same airport with firearms and grenades. The attack killed a 2-year-old child and wounded 14 others. The perpetrators were later arrested by Greek authorities.

A few weeks later, authorities arrested three men who confessed that they had been sent to Athens by the Palestine Liberation Organization to attempt the hijacking of a TWA flight.

Several months later, in July 1970, six terrorists from the same terrorist group hijacked Olympic Airways Flight 255 while it was en route from Beirut to Athens and demanded the release of seven terrorists being held in prisons for previous attacks.

The Red Cross convinced the Greek government to agree to the terrorists' demands, and the imprisoned terrorists, including individuals convicted of murder during earlier attacks, were subsequently released.

In August 1973, shortly before the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, two members of the Black September organization opened fire and threw grenades into the transit lounge at Athens airport. Two American tourists and an Austrian tourist were killed, while 55 other people were wounded. The attackers then took hostages before eventually surrendering to police.

Perhaps the best-known terrorist attack against Israelis connected to Greece was the hijacking of Air France Flight 139 in June 1976.

The flight originated in Tel Aviv and carried numerous Israeli passengers en route to Paris. After a stopover in Athens, where four armed hijackers from the PFLP boarded the aircraft, the plane was diverted first to Libya and then to Entebbe, Uganda, where Israeli commandos later rescued the hostages in a dramatic operation.