Former Hamas bodyguard convicted of Birmingham knife crime also wanted in Germany

A former Hamas bodyguard convicted of knife crime in the UK is wanted in Germany for allegedly plotting to murder Jewish people.

Details of the plot can now be reported after Mohammed Alfatih, also known as Mohammed Naim, was found guilty on Friday of a knife attack on a bailiff outside his home in Birmingham.

The 40-year-old was found guilty by a majority verdict of unlawful wounding, possession of two knives and criminal damage. He was cleared of the more serious charge of wounding with intent.

He was under surveillance by a counter-terrorism unit when he attacked the bailiff last year.

Alfatih, the son of a senior Hamas official, could not be named during his trial because of reporting restrictions.

He had been photographed working for a former leader of Hamas before being granted asylum in the UK in 2015 and British citizenship in 2020.

While detained for the attack on the bailiff in Birmingham, he was rearrested after authorities in Germany said he had been part of an alleged plot to attack Israeli targets in central Europe.

Alfatih, who was born in Germany, is expected to be extradited to the country after he has served his sentence in the UK, with his connection to Hamas stated in the German extradition request.

German prosecutors charged seven suspected Hamas members in September over an alleged plot to target Jews or Israelis in Germany or Austria around the second anniversary of the 7 October attack on Israel.

They said “Mohammed A” played a prominent role in transporting and storing weapons but was being prosecuted separately after UK authorities arrested him in London and noted he had not yet been returned to Germany.

German authorities said he was connected to Hamas’s leadership and was said to have produced a video in advance to take responsibility for the attack on its behalf.

The attack was disrupted by Germany’s domestic intelligence service after a tipoff from the Mossad, Israel’s secret service.

During a two-week trial at Birmingham crown court, the jury was shown video footage of Alfatih lashing out with a knife at the broken window of a van on 14 October last year.

The bailiff, Kevin Bucknall, was left with cuts to his head and required hospital treatment. The defendant pleaded not guilty on the grounds of self-defence.

The jurors, who convicted Alfatih after being shown film footage of him brandishing two large kitchen knives outside his home in Kings Heath, Birmingham, were not told of his links to Hamas.

They were also not told Alfatih was under surveillance by a counter-terrorism unit after being released on bail on suspicion of a terror offence days before the bailiff was attacked.

A government source said: “This is a staggering example of the loss of border control under the last Conservative government, who granted his asylum claim and gave him citizenship.

“This Labour government has just introduced reforms that ensure those who gain citizenship must first show they are a good citizen and have contributed to this country.”