A suspected Hamas operative who once served as a bodyguard to the group’s leader allegedly helped organise a planned massacre in Europe from a suburban street in Britain.
Mohammed Alfatih Naim, also known as Mohammed Alfatih, is accused by German authorities of moving handguns and ammunition from Berlin to a storage unit in Vienna as part of an alleged network involving at least eight Hamas members.
The father of four was granted asylum in Britain more than a decade ago and has been living with his wife and three children in a Birmingham cul-de-sac.
Before settling in the UK, Alfatih worked on the personal security team of then-Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and was frequently photographed alongside him.
He now faces extradition to Germany, where prosecutors suspect him of playing a central role in a plot to attack Jewish or Israeli targets around the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel.
Alfatih’s arrest last autumn can be reported after he was convicted today over an unrelated attack on a bailiff outside his terraced Birmingham home.
The son of senior Hamas figure Bassem Naim, Alfatih is believed to be the only person living in Britain alleged to have taken part in Hamas terrorist operations.
The IT consultant is believed to have entered Britain illegally. According to an Israeli government source, he secured asylum in 2015 after claiming he had been persecuted in Egypt.
German authorities accuse Alfatih of moving weapons, including handguns and ammunition, from Berlin to a storage unit in Vienna
Prosecutors allege Alfatih recorded a masked “confession video” for Hamas’s military wing while sitting at a desk with guns in front of him
Mohammed Alfatih, second from right, pictured in Gaza in 2006 while serving as a bodyguard to then-Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh
By that time, however, his previous role in Haniyeh’s security detail was publicly known. His arrest in Egypt over claims that he operated a tunnel used to smuggle gold into Gaza had also been reported across the Middle East. Haniyeh was assassinated by Israel during a visit to Tehran in 2024.
The case is likely to raise questions for the government and security agencies about how Alfatih—who told jurors he became a British citizen six years ago—was able to establish a life in the UK despite his alleged Hamas connections.
An indictment against seven alleged members of the network, all of whom are in German custody, sets out how Alfatih allegedly collected five firearms during a handover at Hasenheide Park in Berlin on July 28 last year.
Prosecutors say he then took the weapons to Vienna on August 1, placing them in a storage unit alongside “disguise materials, including a scarf, hat and gloves”.
On August 25, Alfatih allegedly flew back to Berlin. A customs search reportedly found a forged Greek identity document and driving licence in his possession, according to the indictment.
Investigators believe he met an alleged Hamas operative in Berlin later that day to collect ammunition for the planned assault.
German prosecutors also allege that Alfatih filmed a “confession video” for the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, which was intended for release after the attack.
Alfatih is the son of a senior Hamas figure and previously served as a bodyguard to then-group leader Ismail Haniyeh
Alfatih pictured beside Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh outside Gaza City’s al-Omari mosque in May 2006
Alfatih, left, standing beside Haniyeh in Gaza in February 2007
German media reports say the video showed Alfatih masked and carrying a weapon in front of a Hamas flag. During the four-and-a-half-minute recording, he allegedly called for “revenge” over what he described as Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
The indictment states that British police found the recording on an SD card seized from Alfatih. Officers also recovered a red polo shirt from his Kings Heath home that prosecutors said “appears to be the same shirt worn by the speaker in the claim-of-responsibility video”.
German investigators began making arrests on October 1 last year after monitoring a weapons transfer involving other alleged members of the cell in a Berlin courtyard.
The seized arsenal included a fully automatic assault rifle, eight Glock 26 semi-automatic pistols and more than 600 rounds of live ammunition.
Investigators believed the group was primarily targeting Israeli diplomats, Jewish community centres and pro-Israel demonstrations.
The seven other suspects include two German nationals, one Danish citizen, one Bulgarian national and three Lebanese men. German prosecutors accuse them of belonging to Hamas and preparing terrorist attacks.
A previous Birmingham court hearing was told that Alfatih was facing extradition to Germany over alleged terrorism offences linked to Hamas
Alfatih, pictured, said he acted in self-defence when he attacked bailiff Kevin Bucknall
German prosecutors describe Alfatih as a “high-ranking Hamas foreign operative” with direct access to the leadership circle of the group’s Politburo. The indictment says his father has been on the United States sanctions list since November 2024 for “supporting terrorism” and claims Alfatih advised him on US politics and Hamas ceasefire talks with Israel during August and September 2025.
Alfatih was arrested last November under the German extradition warrant while being held on remand over the attack on the bailiff.
The extradition case was paused until the trial ended. Reporting restrictions also prevented Alfatih from being named publicly during the proceedings.
During his eight-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court, jurors heard that debt enforcement officer Kevin Bucknall suffered a 1–2cm cut to his head after being stabbed through his vehicle’s window. The incident followed a pursuit from Alfatih’s two-bedroom property on October 14 last year.
Mr Bucknall had visited the address to seize goods against a debt incurred when Alfatih’s wife failed to pay parking penalties. The court was shown footage of the confrontation in the road outside the house.
Prosecutor Matthew Brook KC said Alfatih approached Mr Bucknall’s van carrying two kitchen knives and a rock after the bailiff had retreated. He allegedly used the rock to break the driver’s window before thrusting one of the knives towards Mr Bucknall.
Footage showed Alfatih crossing the road from his home towards bailiff Kevin Bucknall’s van
Jurors heard that Alfatih then thrust a knife towards the driver’s window of Mr Bucknall’s van
Alfatih, 40, was convicted of wounding, possessing a bladed article on two counts and criminal damage. He was acquitted of wounding with intent.
He will be sentenced at a later date. Any prison term is expected to be served in Britain before extradition proceedings resume.
However, an earlier hearing was told that he was wanted in Germany over “terrorism offences linked to Hamas” alleged to have been committed there.
Giving evidence last week, Alfatih said he grew up in Gaza and had been shot in the leg twice by Israeli soldiers, first at 16 and again at 20.
He said the first incident occurred in 2003 as he walked to school with his older brother, who was killed in the attack.
Asked how his upbringing in Gaza had affected him, Alfatih said: “Your way of looking to the light becomes completely different… it severely influences your character.”
He told the court that he learned the day before the confrontation with Mr Bucknall that his youngest brother had also died after being shot in Gaza.
Alfatih also told jurors that he was tortured for 25 days in Egypt during the final months of Hosni Mubarak’s presidency in 2010.
Weapons seized by European intelligence and law enforcement agencies last autumn
Defence witness Dr Mehdi Veisi, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, said Alfatih was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder linked to his experiences.
Dr Veisi told the jury that the death of Alfatih’s brother had “kick-started” traumatic memories.
Alfatih maintained that he attacked Mr Bucknall in self-defence.
“I did not put hands on him,” he told jurors. “I was dealing with my brother just dying, and now I’m dealing with a man in my house choking me… I was trying to defend my family, I had no intention for one second to harm anyone.”
At a pre-trial hearing in April, however, Mr Brook argued that the psychiatrist had not been given the full account of Alfatih’s background. He also said the defendant’s phones contained “various Hamas material”.
The prosecutor said publicly available photographs showed “that the defendant was a Hamas bodyguard in Gaza for the then-leader of Hamas”.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel killed about 1,200 people and resulted in more than 250 others being taken hostage.
Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency has previously said that an investigation conducted with European partners led to the arrest of members of a Hamas sleeper cell and the discovery of weapons caches intended for use against civilians on the group’s orders.
After the arrests in Germany last autumn, Israel dubbed the alleged network the “Hamas Octopus”.
A Home Office spokesman said: “There can be no place in our society for those who engage in violence or seek to facilitate terrorist attacks against innocent people.
“Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation, and we condemn those who choose to support its activities and further its aims.”
Additional reporting by Kristina Wemyss in Berlin, Rob Hyde in Bremen and Natalie Lisbona in Jerusalem
