Jihadi terrorism has gained momentum
since the start of the conflict between Hamas and Israel with
terrorist organizations taking advantage of the Middle Eastern
crisis to recruit new members, in particular youths, to carry
out attacks which have doubled in 2024 in Europe compared to the
previous year, according to the annual intelligence report to
Parliament presented Tuesday.
Meanwhile Italy continues to be a target of jihadi propaganda,
the report also said.
"Jihadi terrorism has gained new life since the explosion of the
conflict between Israel and Hamas and the domino effect that has
derived from it.
"Through artfully constructed propaganda, al Qaida and Daesh
(also known as IS, ISIL and ISIS) have exploited the Middle
Eastern crisis in particular to inspire young people - in some
cases teens - who were already present on European territory and
who were often not directly linked to jihadi organizations, to
carry out attacks.
"The increase in the number of attacks carried out in Europe in
2024, which doubled compared to 2023, must be read in this
perspective", said the study.
The report also highlighted that "Italy continues to attract the
attention of jihadi propaganda due to its centrality in the
Christian world, the commitment in the global anti-Daesh
Coalition and the presence on national territory of symbolic
sites of Western culture and history", according to the findings
presented Tuesday at the headquarters of the Italian
Intelligence Agency in Piazza Dante, Rome.
"The conflict between Israel and Hamas has revitalised the media
campaign" carried out by "both Daesh and al Qaida against the
West.
"In this context, Italy is also listed as a potential target
over its stated pro-Israeli position", said the study, which
quoted in particular the "arson attack carried out in the night
between January 31 and February 1 2024 against the US Consulate
in Florence", noting it "confirmed the presence of risks also in
our country".
It also reported propaganda "inciting attacks against Christian
places of worship in Italy".
The web was key to "recruit and incite violent attacks",
including in Italy, the study also noted.
However, the risks did not only come from online propaganda but
also from Central-Asian and North-Caucasian citizens with
connections to the so-called Islamic State's Afghanistan-based
branch, ISIS-Khorasan, who travelled to Italy and to other
European countries, it said.
In some cases, they entered the Schengen area after crossing
Turkey and the Western Balkans, per the report.
It also said that a total of 82 individuals deemed as a
potential threat to national security by Italy's intelligence
services were expelled from the country in 2024.
The intelligence report presented on Tuesday also mentioned the
rising risk posed by far-right supremacist groups, highlighting
their links in some cases to jihadi organizations in Italy and
in other European countries.
It reported a rising number of radicalized young militants,
including minors, and said "recent police operations have shown
how the threat is progressively moving from an online to an
offline dimension, moreover highlighting several cases of
contamination between this form of violent extremism and other
terrorist groups".
In Italy, as in other European countries several contacts have
been reported between supremacist and jihadi groups, it said.
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