The UK arrested a man known only as Mr X, who reportedly served as a bodyguard to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and later gained asylum and British citizenship. Intelligence shared by Mossad, German services and European partners led to his detention in London in November over allegations he helped plan antisemitic attacks and moved firearms between Berlin and Vienna. He remains in UK custody on domestic charges; extradition to Germany is possible if UK proceedings and any sentence are completed. A long anonymity order currently limits public identification pending the outcome of the UK case.
Former Hamas Bodyguard Turned UK Citizen Arrested Over Alleged Antisemitic Terror Plot
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British authorities have arrested a man known only as Mr X who, according to press reports, previously served as a bodyguard to senior Hamas figure Ismail Haniyeh and later obtained asylum and British citizenship. He was detained in London in November after intelligence-sharing between Israel's Mossad, German security services and partners in Europe identified an alleged plot targeting Jewish sites.
Background
Mr X is reported to have worked in Haniyeh's personal security detail while Haniyeh led Hamas's Gaza leadership between 2007 and 2017. He is said to have moved to the UK more than a decade ago, claiming asylum in 2015 and later receiving indefinite leave to remain and, subsequently, British citizenship.
Mr X served in the personal security detail for Ismail Haniyeh (pictured), Hamas's leader in Gaza between 2007 and 2017 - Mohammed Salem
Allegations and Cross-Border Investigation
German prosecutors allege that Mr X played a leading role in planning an antisemitic attack timed ahead of the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre. A German indictment obtained by Bild accuses him of transporting firearms, including handguns and live ammunition, and items that could be used as disguises from Berlin to a storage facility in Vienna. Reporting also links the wider operation to weapons reportedly including an AK-47.
Authorities say his arrest formed part of a coordinated effort across Germany, Austria, Denmark and the UK that led to multiple detentions and the recovery of weapons. The indictment also alleges Mr X pre-recorded a masked, armed video in front of a Hamas flag, describing the planned attack as retribution on behalf of Hamas's military wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.
Police carried out arrests in Manchester to prevent an antisemitic terrorist plot - Bethan Finighan/Manchester Evening News
Legal Status And Proceedings
Mr X remains in custody in the UK on domestic charges and is awaiting trial. A Westminster magistrates' court originally imposed a lengthy anonymity order — sometimes referred to in the press as a "century" order — to avoid prejudicing ongoing UK proceedings; that restriction may be lifted once the domestic case concludes, at which point naming restrictions could change. If convicted in the UK, he would serve any custodial sentence here before potential extradition to Germany to face the arms-related charges.
Context And Official Response
Media reports say Mr X had at times used multiple legal names and that some accounts connected him to other Hamas figures and an earlier arrest in Egypt over an alleged tunnel used to smuggle weapons. After naturalisation, he was reported to have taken part in demonstrations outside the Israeli embassy.
Home Office: "While it is a long-standing rule that we never comment on individual cases or operational matters, we take all steps necessary at all times to protect the nation's security."
The case emerged shortly after police in Manchester made arrests to disrupt a separate, described-as "fairly imminent" antisemitic terror plot, underscoring ongoing counterterrorism activity across the UK. For legal reasons Mr X cannot currently be publicly identified; reporting on the matter is constrained by the separate criminal proceedings in the UK.
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