A serious terrorist threat against Sweden has been thwarted.
The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas had planned a terror attack to take place in Sweden, reports the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The planned attack was reportedly targeted at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm.
Embassy Targeted
The plans were uncovered by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and the security service Shin Bet, according to the newspaper. As a result, Israel has been able to prevent the planned attack.
The Swedish Security Police have not yet commented on these reports.
Multiple Planned Attacks
According to Israeli sources, Hamas has been planning several terrorist acts against Jewish and Israeli targets, both in Israel and abroad, in recent times. Among these targets was the Israeli embassy in Stockholm.
Last month, Mossad also reported that Danish authorities had arrested several suspected terrorists working for Hamas, as reported by Haaretz.
Rasmus Paludan's Influence
Sweden has become increasingly mentioned in terror-related contexts following several trips to Sweden by Danish right-wing extremist Rasmus Paludan. These trips involved burning the Quran in public places, leading to violent riots in Sweden and large protests and demonstrations in several countries.
"These are legal things that should be legal. But everything that is legal does not have to be appreciated," said Ulf Kristersson (M), to SVT in connection with the Quran burnings.
Erdogan Effigy Incident
At the same time, the PKK-friendly activist group Rojava Committees hung an effigy depicting Turkey's leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan from a lamppost in Stockholm city. This incident negatively affected Sweden's NATO application, with Turkey, along with Hungary, still blocking Sweden's NATO application.
"If someone in another country had hung up an effigy in a mock execution of a leading Swedish politician, many would have thought it was horrible," emphasized Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M).
Increased Terror Level
Some time after the Quran burnings, the terror level in Sweden was raised. "The head of the Security Police has decided to raise the terror threat level from an elevated to a high threat," highlighted Säpo. The reason for the decision is a deteriorated situation regarding attack threats against Sweden and the assessment that the threat will persist for a longer period.
