Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project finds Hamas's denial unconvincing due to close personal ties to Hamas leadership. Media reports suggest the man arrested in London is the son of high-ranking Hamas official Bassem Naim, who recently narrowly escaped an Israeli attack in Doha.

For terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project—an organization based in New York and Berlin—this account lacks credibility. The personal ties to Hamas's leadership are simply too close.

Oświęcim, Poland (April 30, 2026) – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is proud to organize Ground Glass, a new exhibition by Jewish-American photographer Hannah Altman (b. 1995). The exhibition honors the life and work of Holocaust victim Lore Sternfeld (1915-1943), a precision engineer who made camera lenses for Astro-Berlin, the same company whose lenses were used by Nazi propagandists including filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. Beginning June 21, 2026, Ground Glass will be on view at the former home of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, now the Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization (ARCHER) at House 88 in Oświęcim, Poland. The site functions as a center for counter-extremism research, advocacy, and art.

Joshua Fisher-Birch, researcher at the Counter Extremism Project in New York, said it would be a mistake to view any white, ethnonationalist group as being focused on the local, instead of the national or global.

The fallback to the criminal court is universal jurisdiction — domestic courts in foreign countries trying internationally recognized suspects when they travel there. But “since only a small number of countries around the globe have exercised this right, it is easy for potential perpetrators to avoid prosecution by simply not traveling to countries that do so.” Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, CEP's Senior Director talks to the New York Sun about several African nations' exit from the International Criminal Court.

The senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, Hans-Jakob Schindler, tells the Sun that the impasse reflects a classic policy bind.

“The role of Rwanda in supporting M23 in the DRC is a negative and destructive one; on the other hand, its military support in Mozambique is constructive and needed,” Mr. Schindler says.

He points out that the sanctions move appeared calibrated to leave room for reversal, targeting the entirety of the RDF but only four of its leaders, and tying the action specifically to M23 support.

“This means that should the RDF cease support for M23, the sanctions move can be reversed,” he continues, while acknowledging that Washington now finds itself in the uncomfortable position of potentially relying on a sanctioned force to protect American investments.

The problem, experts caution, extends well beyond Australia’s borders.

“The repatriation debate should take on a much greater sense of urgency, not only in Australia but in all countries that still have citizens and other individuals with a relationship to their home country,” Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project, Hans-Jakob Schindler, tells the Sun.

“Having radicalized and potentially dangerous individuals under control is always better than having such individuals in a foreign country where they are not under direct control or monitoring,” Mr. Schindler explains. 

“The risk is that such individuals have knowledge about the country and can either try to return clandestinely or pass on that knowledge to other individuals that travel to Australia.”

Organizations associated with the TRACE project will meet with leading experts on anti-Semitism and anti-Gypsyism at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum on June 10-11, 2026. The aim of the meeting is to strengthen cooperation, share experiences, and a joint response to these challenges in Central Europe.

The conference will take place at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum and at the ARCHER – Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism, and Radicalization. The center itself is located in House 88, the former villa of Auschwitz concentration camp commandant Rudolf Höss, which the Counter Extremism Project has transformed into an international center for research and education on extremism. ARCHER combines academic research, educational activities, public debate and the arts and focuses on understanding the processes that lead to the normalization of extremist attitudes in society.