The past and the contacts of the three Palestinians who were arrested in Crete and in Cyprus and who were allegedly trained in the preparation of explosives with chemical materials with the aim of carrying out terrorist acts, possibly at the expense of Israeli targets, have been put under the microscope by the authorities.
It is recalled that yesterday a 37-year-old Palestinian was arrested in Agios Nikolaos, Crete, who is accused of being member of the terrorist organization Hamas. The man lived there and worked seasonally in a hotel unit. He had come a year ago to Greece and he had applied for asylum.
The man was arrested under conditions of utmost secrecyin a joint operation of the National Intelligence Service and the Special Violent Crimes Directorate. The 37-year-old had no family in Crete, while according to the local media he allegedly kept a low profile, without causing the slightest suspicion in the environment where he moved.
At the same time, the arrested, he kept a house in Patisiawhere various finds were located and seized.
How did EYP track him down?
His arrest was carried out in the context of an investigation initiated by Cyprus, as the 37-year-old is closely associated with two more Palestinianswho were arrested there one to two weeks ago. In particular, about ten days ago, A critical piece of information arrived at EYP for the 37-year-old Palestinian. In fact, according to cretalive, during the investigation of a case related to terrorism suspects, it emerged a phone that allegedly acted as a link element and thus led the investigations of the competent services to Crete and in particular to Agios Nikolaos.
Explosives training
All three arrested were reportedly trained in making explosives with chemicalsin a camp located outside the Gaza Strip. According to the security services, those arrested in Cyprus intended to prepare bombs to carry out attacks on Israeli targets in Cyprus and in the European Union in general. In fact, information from “Fileleftheros” states that two of the Palestinians they were in Cyprus for many yearswhich has caused particular concern to the Authorities, who are looking into their past and contacts. It seems, in fact, that the two have also secured Cypriot citizenship. Their eight-day detention order also expired yesterday and they are expected to be brought before the Larnaca District Court, where in a closed-door procedure, the renewal of their detention order will be requested.
Fears of an attack on a cruise ship
As for the 37-year-old arrested in Crete, there were fears of a possible hit on an Israeli cruise ship that is expected to sail to Agios Nikolaos next Tuesday. The suspicions immediately mobilized the authorities, who proceeded to arrest him.
In searches carried out in the homes of the 37-year-old in Athens (Patisia) and Crete, chemicals, laboratory equipment (doser), mobile telephone devices, laptop computer, data storage media and bank cards were located and confiscated.
The man is detained and examined, while he is expected to be taken to the competent prosecutor. Investigations by the authorities are continuing.
