A former bodyguard to the late Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammed Alfatih, has been convicted of attacking a bailiff with knives outside his home in Birmingham, United Kingdom, amid separate allegations that he was involved in a plot to target Jewish people in Germany.
Alfatih, 40, was found guilty by a majority verdict at Birmingham Crown Court of unlawfully wounding bailiff Kevin Bucknall, possessing two knives and criminal damage. However, he was acquitted of wounding with intent.
The defendant, who previously used the name Mohammed Naim, attacked the bailiff on October 14 last year after the enforcement officer visited his home to repossess his wife’s car over unpaid parking fines exceeding £2,250.
According to the BBC, Alfatih was under surveillance by a counter-terrorism unit when the incident occurred.
Court footage showed him wielding two large kitchen knives outside his residence in Kings Heath, Birmingham, and attempting to stab the bailiff as he drove away.
Bucknall sustained cuts to his head and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Alfatih, who had pleaded not guilty on grounds of self-defence, told the court he had pursued the bailiff to frighten him into leaving.
During his testimony, the father of four said the incident occurred a day after he learnt that one of his brothers had been killed in Gaza.
He also claimed to have suffered traumatic experiences, including being shot and injured on two separate occasions.
“I just want to be as honest as I can,” he told the jury.
“I don’t think I was even in my full mind. I didn’t intend anything other than him moving away.
“I wasn’t anything more than terrified.”
His defence barrister, Kate O’Raghallaigh, argued that Alfatih had developed a heightened perception of danger due to fear and desperation arising from his past experiences.
The jury, which deliberated for more than six hours over three days, was not informed during the trial of Alfatih’s links to Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK, or his former role as a bodyguard to Haniyeh.
However, the BBC reported that Alfatih had regularly served as Haniyeh’s bodyguard between 2006 and 2008, accompanying the former Hamas leader on trips to Egypt and other countries.
He was reportedly removed from the position because of his behaviour.
Alfatih, the second son of former Hamas health minister Bassem Naim, was born in Germany.
He later lived in Malaysia, Qatar and Turkey before moving to the UK, where he was granted asylum in 2015 and obtained British citizenship in 2020.
While in custody following the Birmingham knife attack, he was reportedly re-arrested after German authorities accused him of involvement in an alleged plot to attack Jewish targets in the country.
German investigators allege that Alfatih helped organise the operation and facilitate the movement of weapons.
They also claim he recorded a video while wearing a balaclava and sunglasses, stating that the planned attack was being carried out on behalf of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing.
The alleged plot was reportedly foiled following intelligence provided by Israel’s Mossad.
Alfatih is expected to face extradition proceedings to Germany after serving his sentence in the UK.
A government source described his asylum and citizenship approvals as “staggering” following the conviction.
The UK Home Office, in its reaction, said Hamas was a proscribed terrorist organisation and condemned “those who choose to support its activities and further its aims”.
Alfatih, who has remained in custody since the knife attack, is scheduled to be sentenced in Birmingham on January 11.
He is also facing separate extradition proceedings at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
