A top Hamas bodyguard was secretly plotting a terror attack against European Jews from inside of the United Kingdom, right under the noses of British intelligence, The Sunday Times reported.

The operative, known in the article only as “Mr. X” for legal reasons, secured asylum and lived as a British citizen for more than a decade, where authorities say he plotted an attack to coincide with the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, the report said.

Mr. X, a married father in his forties, was the former bodyguard to Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, who went on to become chairman of its political bureau.

“At the time he was awarded refugee status, it was public knowledge that he had worked for Haniyeh, was the son of another senior Hamas official, and had been arrested in Egypt for operating a tunnel allegedly used to smuggle firearms and gold into Gaza,” the report said. “Yet Mr. X was granted sanctuary and apparently able to operate under deep cover as an IT consultant living in the suburbs of a large English city.”

The Times reported that Mr. X “is not thought to have been a priority for the British security services as he began co-ordinating with Hamas terrorists on the Continent.”

“National Crime Agency (NCA) officers arrested Mr. X in central London last November after Mossad and Germany’s security and intelligence services learnt of the planned attack,” the report said. “Berlin worked with partners in Austria, Denmark and the UK to detain seven suspects and gather weapons including an AK47 assault rifle. Mr. X is accused of transporting weapons including handguns and live ammunition to a storage facility in Vienna, according to a German indictment.”

Mr. X now faces extradition to Germany “where he is accused of being a leading figure in a plot to attack Jewish community centres, Israeli diplomats and pro-Israel demonstrations there or in neighbouring Austria last October,” the report said.

The report added, “The Home Office, MI5 and MI6 are likely to face questions as to how Mr X was able to build his life in Britain, and whether his recent activities were being monitored.”

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