Greek police arrest Palestinian on Crete over Hamas plot

Greek authorities have arrested a 37-year-old Palestinian man on the island of Crete, alleging he was a Hamas operative in the final stages of plotting a terrorist attack against an Israeli cruise ship. The suspect was taken into custody in Agios Nikolaos over the weekend in a joint operation by Greece's National Intelligence Service and its Anti-Terrorist Unit.

The man, an electrician who had been living and working at a hotel in Crete for approximately the past year after being granted asylum, is suspected of planning attacks on Israeli targets. Investigators believe the cruise ship MS Crown Iris, operated by Mano Maritime and scheduled to dock in Crete on Tuesday, was the intended target. No explosives or assembled devices were found.

The arrest is directly linked to a broader counterterrorism investigation in Cyprus, where authorities detained four Palestinian men in late May. Intelligence from that probe, including analysis of mobile phones, led Greek officials to the suspect in Crete. Authorities stated the suspect had maintained contact with at least one of the individuals arrested in Cyprus.

During searches of the man's residence in Crete and a previous home in Athens,...