Ex-Haniyeh guard faces extradition to Germany

The extradition request states that he helped transfer firearms to Vienna, where they were hidden for possible use in an attack.

By Gila Isaacson, JFeed

British authorities are expected to extradite Mohammed al-Fatah, aged 40, to Germany. Al-Fatah once served as a personal bodyguard to slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and he is suspected of helping plan terror attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe.

According to Germany’s extradition request, al-Fatah took part in preparations for attacks in Germany or Austria that were meant to be carried out around the second anniversary of the October 7 massacre, Kikar HaShabbat reported.

German investigators are examining the involvement of seven Hamas-affiliated suspects.

They say al-Fatah, also known as Mohammed Naim, played a central role in moving and storing weapons intended for the terror cell.

The extradition request states that he helped transfer firearms to Vienna, where they were hidden for possible use in an attack.

Investigators also say he recorded a video in advance claiming responsibility for the attack on behalf of Hamas.

In footage published by German media, he appears masked and threatens revenge.

Al-Fatah moved to Britain in 2015 and became a British citizen in 2020.

Local police arrested him over a separate criminal incident in which he attacked a bailiff with a knife when the officer came to his home to seize property.

A British court convicted him of unlawful wounding, possession of two knives and criminal damage.

While the British case was underway, German authorities pressed ahead with their extradition request.

Al-Fatah is now expected to be handed over to German law enforcement as soon as he completes his prison sentence in the UK.

The British Sunday Times previously reported that al-Fatah had been part of Haniyeh’s security detail since 2006, the year Hamas won the Palestinian elections before going on to seize control of Gaza.

Between 2009 and 2012 he passed through Egypt, where he was arrested after being linked to the operation of a tunnel used to smuggle weapons and gold into Gaza.