A blast struck a pro-Israeli centre in the Netherlands late Friday, causing minimal damage and leaving no one injured, police reported Saturday.
The incident adds to a series of attacks that the targeted organisation says are spreading across Europe.
A police spokeswoman told AFP that no one was inside the Christians for Israel site in the central town of Nijkerk when the explosion occurred outside its gate.
“Investigations revealed that a person dressed in black placed the explosive device,” the police said in a statement, calling on anyone with information to come forward.
Christians for Israel described themselves as “shocked” by what they called part of “a worrying pattern” of incidents targeting Jewish and pro-Israeli sites in the Netherlands and neighbouring Belgium.
“The damage was limited, but the impact is significant,” the organisation wrote on social media.
“The fact that this took place on the eve of Easter, the most important celebration for Christians, makes it all the more poignant.”
An obscure Islamist group with potential ties to Iran, known as Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), claimed responsibility for similar night-time attacks in Belgium, Britain, and the Netherlands, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist activity.
Unlike prior footage, SITE said, the group’s video did not show the attack itself but displayed photos of the building and included a threat against Israeli supporters.
Police warned it is too early to establish a motive. “An investigation was ongoing and no arrests have been made so far,” they added.
Christians for Israel explains its mission as promoting “Biblical understanding in the Church and among the nations concerning God’s purposes for Israel and to promote comfort of Israel through prayer and action.”
The group’s Nijkerk “Israel Centre” hosts exhibitions, lectures, and a shop, according to its website.
HAYI has claimed responsibility for a number of low-level attacks that have raised fears over antisemitism following the US-Israeli war against Iran that began in late February.
The group said it set fire to ambulances run by Jewish volunteers in London, torched a car in Antwerp, and carried out explosions at synagogues in Liège and Rotterdam, as well as at a Jewish school in Amsterdam.
However, experts have questioned whether HAYI is a genuine organisation or merely a front for Iranian intelligence operations.
