Greek police arrest a Palestinian man on suspicion of planning attacks

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THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Police on the Greek island of Crete on Sunday arrested a 37-year-old Palestinian man on suspicion of planning “terrorist” attacks and belonging to the militant group Hamas.

Police said in a brief statement the man is also under investigation for traveling abroad to undergo training.

Searches in homes in both Crete and the Greek capital, Athens, turned up a number of mobile phones, a laptop, external hard drives and bank cards. The suspect will appear before a magistrate later Sunday.

The suspect, an electrician who has been living in Crete for the past year, had placed an online order for what police said were “chemical agents" that could be used in the manufacture of explosives.

Police said the man’s arrest is linked to the detention of four Palestinian men in Cyprus who are also being investigated on terrorism-related charges and belonging to a criminal organization.

Greek authorities said the suspect was in touch with one of the four Palestinians in Cyprus with whom he traveled to Malaysia for training on making explosives using commercially available chemical agents.

Cypriot law enforcement authorities initially placed two Palestinians in custody on May 22, following what they said was the evaluation of gathered intelligence. Authorities said they discovered in two residences used by one of the men material that could be used in the manufacture of explosives.

Cypriot police detained two other Palestinian men on May 29 as part of the same investigation.