Four teenage suspects caused one synagogue explosion and attempted to cause a second—all for a €3,000 payment—a court in the Netherlands heard.
The quartet, all between 17 and 19 years old, was arrested on the night of March 13 outside a synagogue on Mozartlaan in Hillegersberg. Previously, an explosion had occurred at the Jewish house of prayer on ABN Davidsplein in Blijdorp. It is alleged that footage of this blast—started with gasoline and a firecracker—was sent to a handler using a messaging app.
The video was then circulated on the Telegram channel Alfaqaar. From here onwards, the attack was claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya. Despite this, the teens—three of the four of Antillean descent—through their lawyers argue that this is not a terror case.
De Telegraaf reports that one suspect stated after his arrest that he did not know what a synagogue was. Detectives surprised him by saying it was a Jewish church, prompting this reaction:
Why a church? It doesn’t do anything wrong at all, does it?
Lawyers for the suspects claim that their clients were recruited. One counsel said his 18-year-old high school student client wanted to go home after the first explosion. Despite these claims, the Public Prosecution Service sees terrorist intent at work, shown by the content of the group’s Snapchat messages.
A key part of the trial will hinge on whether the attacks were ordered from Amsterdam. A 23-year-old known as KY is alleged to have acted as an intermediary, commissioning the crime from 19-year-old JR from Tilburg who, in turn, allegedly took the other boys to Rotterdam.
All but one of the suspects is now out of detention but subject to electronic monitoring.
KY’s lawyer disputes the idea this was a terrorist attack:
They have nothing to do with antisemitism, terrorism, or the conflict with Iran and Israel. They are simply being used as pawns.
Either way, the use of teenagers as ‘guns for hire’—already widespread in countries such as Sweden—poses a troubling new security threat. While no-one was injuring the time, the blast itself was seen a serious threat to Jews in Rotterdam.
