The Israeli embassies in Copenhagen and Stockholm appear to have been the targets of attacks on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
According to media reports, the police were alerted in the Swedish capital after a loud bang was heard near the Israeli embassy at around 6 p.m. Police later confirmed that evidence found at the scene indicated that the embassy had been hit by gunshots.
Later, two explosions were heard in the “immediate proximity” of the Israeli embassy in the Danish capital at around 3.20 a.m.
Nobody was injured and no arrests have been reported.
A Danish police spokesman would not confirm that the Israeli embassy was targeted, or whether the explosions are connected to Israel’s ground offensive in Lebanon which started on Tuesday. “It’s too early to say if there is a link,” he said, but “a possible connection to the Israeli embassy” is being investigated.
Copenhagen police on Wednesday afternoon said they have arrested three people in connection with the suspected bombing. Two men were arrested on a train at Copenhagen Central Station, and the third was arrested earlier elsewhere in the Danish capital.
A Jewish school located near the embassy is staying closed on Wednesday due to its proximity to the crime scene. There will also be extra security around the main synagogue in downtown Copenhagen, a spokesman for the Jewish community said.
Police declined to comment on the size of the explosions or on whether any material damage had resulted. Denmark’s Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard told broadcaster TV2 that the incident was “inherently serious,” adding it was too early to say anything about a motive.
Meanwhile, in Stockholm, at least ten police cars arrived on the scene, with police officers blocking the area while searching for evidence. During the search, a weapon and an empty shell casing were found.
There is already tightened security and an increased police presence around the embassy in Stockholm after several incidents earlier this year. In two cases, teenagers were arrested while in a taxi on their way to the embassy, armed with weapons. One of them was sentenced to 11 months after being caught with a gun and wearing gloves, claiming he received instructions via chat.
In January, a hand grenade was thrown at the embassy, although it did not explode. Last May, shots were fired near the embassy, and several people were arrested afterward.
Israeli intelligence service Mossad has said Swedish gangs carried out the attacks on the orders of Iran. Sweden’s intelligence agency, Säpo, in May also accused Iran of recruiting gang members in Sweden, some of them children, as proxies to commit “acts of violence against other states, groups or people in Sweden that it considers a threat.” It cited in particular “Israeli and Jewish interests, targets and operations in Sweden.”
As we recently reported, Sweden registered over 350 successful or thwarted bombings and 363 shooting incidents (including 53 fatalities and 109 woundings) last year—the highest numbers in all of Europe. A large portion of crimes are ordered and directed from abroad. Neighbouring Nordic countries have expressed their worries about Swedish gang crime spilling over into their territories.
Antisemitic attacks have also been on the rise since the Palestinian terror group Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel on October 7th last year.
More than one hundred antisemitic hate crimes were reported in Sweden between October 7th and the end of 2023, almost five times the number of the same period a year earlier. Denmark saw the biggest antisemitic wave since 1943, with a total of 121 antisemitic incidents registered in 2023.
