The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency issued a warning on Friday that the upcoming anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 could be a “triggering event” for domestic disturbances.
Next Monday marks the first anniversary of the unprecedented attack that ignited the war in Gaza and sparked conflict with Hamas allies in Lebanon, Iran, and elsewhere.
Thomas Haldenwang, head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, stated that unrest in the Middle East tends to provoke reactions in Germany. He cautioned about a “high likelihood of sympathy, polarization, and extremism” during the anniversary.
In addition to the official commemoration of the attack, several pro-Palestinian demonstrations are scheduled to take place in Germany over the weekend and on Monday.
In Berlin, Benjamin Jidro, spokesperson for the police union, expressed significant concern about potential events in the coming days, following “incidents of hate, anti-Semitism, and violent excesses” by some pro-Palestinian activists.
Haldenwang noted that anti-Semitic crimes have reached their highest levels since the onset of the Gaza war. He added that “the potential threat of terrorist attacks targeting Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions, as well as the West as a whole, has increased significantly over the past six months.”
The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to a tally by Agence France-Presse based on official Israeli figures.
The Israeli military response has led to at least 41,802 deaths in Gaza, predominantly among women and children, according to figures from the Hamas health ministry, which the United Nations has deemed reliable.
