Europe is facing new wave of terrorism
The last eleven months have seen an increase in attempted and completed jihadist attacks.
As V4NA reported earlier, an armed man was shot dead by German police near the Israeli consulate in Munich. There have been many similar incidents in Western Europe in recent weeks. Experts say another wave of terror is sweeping across the continent.
The research of political scientist Peter R Neumann, 49, focuses on terrorism and extremism. Dr Neumann, a professor of security studies at King’s College London, founded and for many years headed the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) and is a permanent member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He gave an extensive interview for Germany’s Die Welt.
„The most important takeaway is that we may be at the beginning of a new wave. In the last eleven months we have seen an increase in jihadist attempted and actual attacks. Since October 2023, there have been 22 attempted attacks and seven completed attacks by jihadists in Western Europe. This is a fourfold increase compared to 2022. And Solingen is hopefully a wake-up call for everyone that this problem needs renewed, focused attention. Jihadism is likely yet again the biggest terrorist threat to Germany,”
the expert outlined the security situation in Western Europe. The attack on Israel by the Palestinian terrorist organisation Hamas has given a huge boost to the sleeper cells in Western Europe and revitalised a movement that had been experiencing stagnation. Since then, Islamic State has sought to use the pro-Palestinian uprisings for propaganda purposes, telling its supporters that if they want to fight for Palestine and against Israel, they must join.
„Because in principle this is all part of a global religious war. This was expressed in the video message released by the Islamic State after the Solingen attack, in which the attacker said he was avenging what is happening in Palestine,”
the researcher said. He also noted that it was surprising that there were no terrorist attacks at the Olympics, as France has many more jihadists than Germany does and more attacks are planned there.
The knife attack in Solingen, by contrast, did not come as a surprise at all, according to the expert, as it accurately reflects the strategy of the Islamic State.
„Their aim is to make people around the world fear that terrorists could strike anywhere, not just in Paris and Berlin, but in a small town like Solingen or an even smaller settlement,”
Neumann said, adding that another consistent overarching aim of such terrorist attacks is to keep their own supporters motivated and encourage them to carry out further attacks. The Islamic State has certainly been successful at this before.
Back in 2016, a terrorist drove a lorry into a crowd in Nice, killing more than 80 people. Within twelve months, similar attacks occurred across Europe, including in Berlin. Other extremists copied and followed suit, thinking this is effective enough. The Islamic State is now signalling to its devotees that they can easily kill people in Europe again.
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