A court in Birmingham has found a German-born former bodyguard to the Hamas leader guilty of a knife attack on a bailiff outside his home, in a case that has exposed the complexities of UK engagement with people linked to proscribed organisations. Mohammed Alfatih, 40, was cleared of the more serious charge of wounding with intent but found guilty by majority verdict of unlawful wounding, possession of two knives and criminal damage. The incident took place at his Kings Heath home in October 2025, after the bailiff came to the property over unpaid parking tickets.
What the court heard
The jury was not told of Alfatih’s alleged links to Hamas, or of a German extradition request, during the trial. Alfatih, who also uses the name Naim on his LinkedIn profile, was born in Germany and grew up in Gaza, where he worked as a bodyguard to Ismail Haniyeh, who led Hamas between 2006 and 2017. He claimed asylum in the UK in 2014 and was granted British citizenship in 2020. During the trial, jurors were shown footage of Alfatih brandishing two large kitchen knives outside his home. He was accused of smashing the window of the bailiff’s van and leaving him with a gash on his head. He was arrested under a German arrest warrant in November last year and was held on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of supporting Hamas, which officers later dropped. Counter-terrorism officers questioned him over alleged Hamas-linked material found on his phone, including a video referencing the 7 October 2023 attacks.
The alleged plot
Authorities in Germany later said Alfatih had been part of an alleged plot to attack Israeli and Jewish targets in Germany and neighbouring Austria on the second anniversary of 7 October 2023. The German indictment alleged that Hamas’s military wing, the al Qassam Brigades, set up arms depots in Europe, and by the start of October 2025 held a stash including a fully automatic rifle, 13 functional pistols and more than 700 rounds of ammunition. Alfatih is accused of twice meeting an accomplice in Berlin in the summer of 2025, receiving five pistols and ammunition, and of transporting the weapons to Vienna for planned attacks in Europe.
Alfatih, the son of a Hamas official, denied the charges. His barrister told the court that he had witnessed and experienced extreme and traumatic violence in Gaza and Egypt, and was diagnosed with PTSD. His brothers were reported to have been shot dead, and Alfatih was himself shot twice in Gaza as a 16-year-old, then detained in Egypt, where he was tortured, including being electrocuted, his barrister said. Footage played at Birmingham Crown Court shows him holding a half-brick and armed with two kitchen knives before smashing the window of the bailiff’s van.
Why it matters
The case sits at the intersection of UK immigration, counter-terrorism and the fallout from the Israel-Hamas conflict. Alfatih’s path from Gaza to British citizenship, and the later uncovering of an alleged European terror plot on the second anniversary of 7 October 2023, raises questions about how much UK authorities understood of the risk he posed before the Birmingham attack. It also highlights the strain on the counter-terrorism unit that had been surveilling him while he attacked a court officer.
What happens next
Alfatih, who faces extradition to Germany to face trial, was remanded in custody after the verdict. Sentence is adjourned until 11 January, and any custodial sentence will be served in the UK before extradition proceeds. A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘There can be no place in our society for those who engage in violence or seek to facilitate terrorist attacks against innocent people. Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation, and we condemn those who choose to support its activities and further its aims.’
We do not allow links of any sort in comments. No SPAM whatsoever. On topic comments only.