A former bodyguard of slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was granted British citizenship in 2020, has been found guilty of attacking a bailiff with knives outside his home in Birmingham.He is also wanted in Germany over an alleged plot to assassinate Israeli and Jewish targets in Europe, according to reports by Sky News and BBC.Mohammed Alfatih, 40, was convicted by a majority verdict at Birmingham Crown Court of unlawful wounding, possessing two kitchen knives and criminal damage. He was acquitted of the more serious charge of wounding with intent.The incident took place on October 14, 2025, when bailiff Kevin Bucknall visited Alfatih’s home over his wife’s unpaid parking tickets. Court footage showed Alfatih holding a half-brick and two kitchen knives before smashing the window of the bailiff’s van. Bucknall suffered a head injury and required hospital treatment, BBC reported.Alfatih claimed he acted in self-defence, telling the court that he wanted to scare the bailiff away after an altercation inside his home. He also cited traumatic experiences in Gaza and Egypt, including being shot and tortured.His defence lawyer, Kate O’Raghallaigh, argued that his past experiences had heightened his perception of danger and triggered fear and desperation.
Former Hamas bodyguard faces extradition to Germany
Alfatih, also known as Mohammed Naim, was born in Germany but grew up in Gaza, where he worked as a bodyguard for Haniyeh, who led Hamas from 2006 to 2017. Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran in 2024.He is the son of senior Hamas official Basem Naim. Alfatih claimed asylum in the UK in 2014 and was granted British citizenship in 2020, Sky News reported.German authorities accuse him of playing a prominent role in an alleged plan to target Israeli and Jewish people in Germany and neighbouring Austria. He was arrested in London in November 2025 on a German arrest warrant.According to the German indictment, Hamas’s military wing, the al Qassam Brigades, allegedly established weapons depots in Europe. The stockpile reportedly included a fully automatic rifle, 13 functioning pistols and more than 700 rounds of ammunition.Alfatih is accused of meeting an accomplice in Berlin twice in the summer of 2025, collecting five pistols and ammunition before transporting the weapons to Austria and storing them in Vienna.Sky News reported that German media had published images from a pre-recorded video allegedly recovered during the investigation. In the footage, a man identified as Alfatih is seen wearing a black balaclava and sunglasses and speaking Arabic while vowing revenge for what he described as the Israeli “genocide” in Gaza.The 40-year-old was also questioned by British counter-terrorism police over alleged Hamas-related material found on his mobile phone, including a video referencing the October 7, 2023, attacks and an image of an al Qassam Brigades fighter, according to Sky News.However, the UK police investigation into suspected support for Hamas was subsequently dropped.Alfatih is expected to be extradited to Germany after completing any custodial sentence imposed in the UK. His extradition proceedings have been put on hold pending the outcome of the British criminal case.The judge has adjourned sentencing until January 11 and remanded him in custody.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,” the spokesperson added.
