“…“The terrorist threat to Europe right now is actually quite high because you have an intersection of a range of disconnected but unfortunately mutually reinforcing events,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Berlin- and New York-based Counter Extremism Project. “October 7 changed the threat level from groups that didn’t really pose any threat on the European continent for many years. It’s definitely always been Islamist terrorism, but it’s not Islamist terrorism in all of its varieties from Hamas to al-Qaida. Usually it’s Islamic State, it’s al-Qaida, and it’s lone actors. Now you have Hamas, Hezbollah, lone actors, Islamic State, al-Qaida, the left wing, the right wing – all of them who could potentially see this large conglomeration of really soft targets. “We have the threat that has been there all along, but because of October 7 has been fairly diligently pushed out of the headlines, and that’s the Islamic State threat,” he added."

"On this episode of 'The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent J.J. Green,' senior director at the Counter Extremism Project Hans-Jakob Schindler says the discovery of two terror cells revealed what authorities believe was a chilling plot."

"Pro-IS groups have also been active in this time, praising the savage Hamas attacks and calling for action on European soil. On October 22, the pro-IS Tala’a al-Ansar Foundation released a video celebrating the Brussels shooting and urged its supporters to launch copycat attacks, according to the Counter Extremism Project."

"In recent times, Europe has been grappling with a heightened terrorist threat, with events like the firebomb attack on a Berlin synagogue and killings in Belgium and France sending shockwaves across the continent.  In a region where security concerns are on the rise, we aim to understand what measures have failed in Belgium and France and whether European security services can effectively counter the modern threat of terrorism.
To discuss the implications, responses, and potential solutions, we were joined by two political analysts and observers: 
Ryszard Machnikowski, Dean of the Faculty of International and Political Studies at the University of Lodz, and Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project."