France and Germany have ramped up security ahead of New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations following warnings that the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas had raised the risk of terror attacks. <\/p>\n
Police in the German city of Cologne are bolstering their forces following a report that Islamist groups may be planning an attack on the city\u2019s famous cathedral on New Year\u2019s Eve. <\/p>\n
Officer Martin Lotz said at a press conference on thet officers carrying submachine guns and wearing protective vests would be deployed in the city. <\/p>\n
The city\u2019s gothic cathedral announced it will only open for church services until further notice \u201cdue to the current security situation,\u201d according to a statement it posted on social media. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Berlin, police are attempting to raise awareness of the dangers of fireworks through social media channels. <\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t attack us. Don\u2019t shoot at us with fireworks and rockets. Avoid penalties or several years in jail,\u201d Berlin police warned in a video released on X, formerly known as Twitter, in the lead up to New Year\u2019s Eve. <\/p>\n
Concerns are heightened after last year\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations in Berlin turned into violent riots. Several were injured, including police officers and firefighters who said fireworks were deliberately aimed at them. The pyrotechnics also sparked street fires. <\/p>\n
City authorities have established three firework-free zones in the city\u2019s district of Neuk\u00f6lln \u2013 an area which became a flashpoint for pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent weeks. <\/p>\n
According to German newspaper Die Zeit, Berlin\u2019s governing mayor, Kai Wegner, said that police in the capital are better equipped this year than last year, and will use full force \u201cif necessary.\u201d <\/p>\n
Wegner has also acknowledged that the security situation this year will be \u201cmore tense\u201d due to the events that have unfolded since October 7. <\/p>\n
Similarly Barbara Slowik, chief of Berlin\u2019s police force, described an \u201cintense need to protect Jewish and Israeli people\u201d on New Year\u2019s Eve. <\/p>\n
Referring to the heightened tensions caused by the Israel-Hamas conflict, Slowik warned \u201cwe are certainly assuming that these emotions will also be acted out on the streets,\u201d according to public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile France\u00a0will deploy 90,000 officers as the country faces \u201cvery high terrorist threat,\u201d French Interior Minister G\u00e9rald Darmanin said Friday. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have asked for a very strong mobilisation of our police and gendarmes in a context of very high terrorist threat due to, of course, what is happening in Israel and Palestine,\u201d Darmanin told journalists. <\/p>\n
The number of police mobilized is around the same as that for the New Year\u2019s Eve last year, according to data from the French Interior Ministry. <\/p>\n
Apart from terrorist threats,\u00a0France\u00a0traditionally sees a rise in minor offences, especially burning cars, as people celebrate the arrival of the New Year. <\/p>\n
The French Interior Ministry hailed a decrease in number of cars burned on December 31, 2022, with 690 compared to 874 cars set on fire on December 31, 2021. <\/p>\n
The beefed-up security comes after similar measures were put in place across several European countries ahead of Christmas Eve. <\/p>\n
Countries including France, Germany and Austria increased\u00a0security\u00a0checks and protections for churches ahead of\u00a0Christmas\u00a0Eve\u00a0Mass and celebrations. <\/p>\n
Earlier in December, four alleged Hamas members suspected of plotting terror attacks on European soil were arrested by German and Dutch authorities. <\/p>\n\n
France and Germany have ramped up security ahead of New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations following warnings that the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas had raised the risk of terror attacks. Police in the German city of Cologne are bolstering their forces following a report that Islamist groups may be planning an attack on the city\u2019s <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":13441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13440","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}