Greek authorities are investigating ties between Palestinians living in Greece and Hamas

Representatives of the Greek intelligence and security services fear that the latest events in Israel and Gaza could provoke violent actions, including terrorist attacks, in our country.

In an eight-page secret document shown by the publication Kathimerinidescribes the activities of four Palestinian organizations in Greece and seven “persons of interest” allegedly linked to Hamas, which EUin particular, is considered a terrorist organization.

Indeed, Palestinian organizations operating in Greece are doing nothing illegal, having supported the cause of their homeland for more than a decade, if not more. Recent protests in front of the Israeli embassy in Athens, which they helped organize, were not accompanied by violence, unlike what happened in several cities around the world. But the social media activity of at least two of them suggests approval, even admiration, for Hamas’s murderous October 7 invasion of Israel. Moreover, the Palestinian organizations seem to be closely related: two of them have the same Athens address. They also established links with local anarchist groups.

Some of the “persons of interest” mentioned in the secret document took part in the protests. Others have helped finance Hamas in the past. The document cites a case in 2006 in which funds raised ostensibly for a philanthropic cause – helping Palestinian children – ended up in Hamas’ coffers through a tangled network of relatives and non-governmental organizations. The organizer of the operation, a Palestinian in his 50s, was living in Greece at the time and now lives in Beirut, the document says.

The most compelling individual case involves a man currently in prison on a Greek island for transporting illegal immigrants. He was born in 1995 in the Gaza Strip and allegedly told people he spoke with that he received weapons training from Hamas in 2013 and was a driver for senior officials in the organization in 2021.

In the last rally in support of Palestine More than 10,000 people took part in Athens alone. There were also similar rallies in Thessaloniki, Lamia, Patras…

According to various estimates, more than 300 thousand migrants from Asian and African countries live in Greece. 90% of them are Muslims. At least 600,000 more Muslims have lived in Greece since ancient times or came from Albania or Turkey. They are all potential supporters of Palestine and opponents of Israel.

Supporters of Palestine can also include the majority of representatives of left-wing parties and movements, who for many years have condemned Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians and opposed Israel’s actions. And this is at least 1 million more people in the country. And if the majority of the official left parties like SYRIZA or KKE do not resort to aggressive actions against the citizens of Israel, then representatives or supporters of anarchists and parties like Antarsia will willingly do this.

Far-right parties have no better attitude towards Israel – both due to their racist worldview and because of their support for the United States, which in the minds of most of the far-right, as well as the far-left, embodies the image of the “absolute enemy.” And if for the ultra-left the United States is an apologist for imperialism, then for the right it is an image of supporters of leftists, debauchery and support for LGBT+ people.

The Greek authorities will have to fight and be vigilant with all this chaos. And as local political scientists say: “It would be better Kyriakos Mitsotakis did not travel to Israel. There’s no need to play with fire while sitting on a keg of gunpowder.”

Source link