Christmas Security Measures Beefed Up in Germany, Austria Amid Islamist Threats

Shoppers carry their tree at a Christmas Tree Farm in Mellensee near Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 12, 2010. (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Authorities across Germany, Austria, and Spain are implementing strict security measures for Christmas and New Year amid security threats from Jihadist groups.

In Germany, police searched the 13th-century Cologne Cathedral with sniffer dogs on Saturday and announced that people who attend church for the Christmas Eve Mass would be subject to security screening before being allowed inside. The police also recommended that people avoid bringing bags and come to Mass early. German police said that security measures were being taken after receiving indicators of a potential attack planned for New Year’s Eve, according to Reuters.

“Even if the reference refers to New Year’s Eve, we will take everything into account this evening to ensure the safety of cathedral visitors on Christmas Eve,” Cologne chief of police Michael Esser said in a Dec. 23 statement.

German outlet Bild reported that security authorities in Spain, Germany, and Austria have received signs that an Islamist terror cell may seek to launch multiple attacks in Europe on Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Potential targets include Christmas services in Cologne, Madrid, and Vienna. Terror suspects are thought to be from the Tajik ethnicity working for ISIS Khorasan, an offshoot of the ISIS terrorist group operating in Afghanistan.

Authorities in Vienna have made multiple arrests while Germany has arrested an individual in relation to the terror threats.

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“Given that terrorist actors throughout Europe are calling for attacks on Christian events, especially around Dec. 24, the security authorities have taken the corresponding protection measures in public spaces,” the Austrian police said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The officials mentioned they were boosting security at churches and in the Christmas market.

Earlier this month, the Spanish Interior Ministry announced security reinforcement for the Christmas holidays beginning Dec. 18. The anti-terrorism alert level is at Level 4 or “high risk.”

On Dec. 5, the European Union’s home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, warned that the region was facing a “huge risk of terrorist attacks” during Christmas holidays as a result of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the Middle East.

In mid-December, four suspected members of Hamas were arrested by German authorities. They were identified as being “longstanding members” of the organization who have participated in several Hamas operations abroad, according to a press release by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office.

One suspect began searching for an underground weapons cache in Europe no later than spring 2023. The weapons cache was created by Hamas in the past. This person had reportedly received orders from Hamas leaders in Lebanon.

“The weapons were due to be taken to Berlin and kept in a state of readiness in view of potential terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe.” In October, the other three suspects traveled to Berlin, looking for the weapons.

Europe’s Jihadist Threat

In a Nov. 29 bulletin, Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said that the Hamas attack on Israel was creating a security situation in the country.

The bulletin pointed to Islamists, Palestinian extremists, Turkish extremists, and German extremists as agitators and mobilization drivers. They organize and take part in pro-Palestine meetings and spread hatred, it stated.

Thomas Haldenwang, president of the BfV, noted that they have been “observing the declared desire of Islamists to carry out attacks in the West for a long time, and I have repeatedly emphasized that an Islamist attack can be carried out in Germany any day.”

“But now a new quality is emerging: in the jihadist spectrum, we see calls for assassinations and a ‘docking’ of ‘Al-Qaeda’ and [ISIS] into the Middle East conflict,” he said.

“This danger now affects highly emotional people who are inspired by trigger events. This can lead to the radicalization of perpetrators acting alone who attack ‘soft targets’ with simple means. The danger is real and higher than it has been for a long time.”

German security agencies are “working intensively” to counter radicalization factors and potential security scenarios.

A similar observation was made by the Netherlands’ National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security. In a Dec. 12 post, it announced raising the terror threat level of the country to Level 4, or “substantial,” due to the rise in such threats over the past few months.

“This means that there is a realistic possibility that an attack will take place in the Netherlands,” it said. “Organizations like ISIS and [al-Qaeda] are using the war in Gaza to urge sympathizers to carry out attacks in the West.”

In 2023, many suspects were arrested across Europe for planning to carry out jihadist attacks in the region. “These arrests show that jihadists are seeking to carry out attacks and making preparations to that end.”

“Attacks and arrests in France, Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom since early October illustrate the risks posed by radicalized individuals who are inspired by current events and terrorist organizations.”

The center of gravity of jihadist violence is shifting from the Middle East to parts of Africa, the post said. If the jihadists succeed in capturing territory and creating a safe haven for themselves, some of these groups will “encourage, prepare, or oversee attacks in the West.”