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European diplomats attacked by Israeli settlers, Swiss and Austrian women freed in Niger and arrest warrant for two Germans accused of Starlink arson authorized in Bulgaria

European diplomats attacked by Israeli settlers, Swiss and Austrian women freed in Niger and arrest warrant for two Germans accused of Starlink arson authorized in Bulgaria

It sucks to be a Cassandra with a hard core devotion to Murphy's Law. Sometimes there are realities that exceed expectations but it is often best to have no expectations whatsoever. Do not expect people to be better than they are and do not expect people to rise above the passions of the moment, the emotions of the hour or the poiltical persuasions of the day – but be immensely grateful when they do.

This is not a week for gratitude. The dynamic duo of Donald Trump and Elon Musk decided it would be frun to play god with Ukrainian lives from Sunday until Tuesday. Energy prices are high but not for the choices Ukraine has made in an existential war of survival. Ukrainians did little more than be born Ukrainian to deserve their fate. They did not make a complex array of financial and interpersonal choices to bind them or not to the MAGA movement, though some may have. For all intents and purposes, Ukraine and Ukrainians are MAGA agnostic; if it serves them, they reach for it and if it does not, they focus on self-care. This is in language Americans and consumers of American products the world over can surely understand. 

If you have even one eyelid flickering awake in recent weeks, you have surely heard of the OODA loop in recent weeks. Still, many have not. For those in the back: Observe. Orient. Decide. Act.

Disrupt this process, preferably before orientation and decision, and you have subverted your enemy.

The cut off of intelligence sharing for even a few days this week with Ukraine cost lives. As a reminder to all, Poland as a state pays for Starshield, the military application of Elon Musk's Starlink, over Ukraine. As such, Poland should not rely on moral histrionics alone to right this historical injustice. Bureaucracy, especially sand in the gears destruction of adversarial capabilities and will to subvert your mission is essential. Trade courts, California courts, funding competitors – hit where it hurts.

In the end, time is on no one's side. Only one life to live, etc. Russia faces a demographic crisis of its own making. Ukraine risks everything from economic calamity to a brain drain to mass death to occupation to historical erasure. Ask yourselves what Musk and Trump are risking and what their appetite for risk is. 

If you care about European security, this week should have also taught you that despite a very meaty panel discussion industrial complex and a plethora of concern levels, Europe cannot do without the Americans in terms of intelligence and technology.

Welcome to the Alpine Security Monitor. We urge you to subscribe (and become a paid subscriber!) for weekly updates on security and geopolitics as it concerns the Alpine region, namely Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland (ok, little Liechtenstein and Monaco too when merited).

 

TAYBEH, OCCUPIED WEST BANK – European diplomats attacked by Israeli settlers

  • The Wall Street Journal reports Saturday that a group of French, Belgian and Polish diplomats accompanied by "Catholic representatives and Palestinians" was attacked by masked Israeli settlers in the majority Christian town of Taybeh in the West Bank.
  • Taybeh is a frequent target of Israeli settlers. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar condemned the attack and blamed it on "Israeli rioters" while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident "unacceptable" but "cautioned against 'premature conclusions'". Netanyahu's biggest opponent in the upcoming elections, Gadi Eisenkot, said "violence in the West Bank amounted to 'Jewish terror'".
  • In recent years, violent attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank have increased, "coinciding with a rapid expansion of Israeli settlements". The Israeli settlements are viewed as illegal by most countries.

 

NIAMEY, NIGER – Swiss and Austrian women freed after 18 months' captivity in Niger

  • Deutsche Welle reports Thursday that Niger released a Swiss and an Austrian woman "after over a year of holding them captive".
  • The Austrian woman, in her 70s, and the Swiss woman, 69, were abducted in Niger last year in January and April respectively. After the women were freed, they were flown to eastern Libya. There, a Libyan TV station released a video of the two thanking Khalifa Haftar, the deputy commander-in-chief of Libya's armed forces, and his son. It seems Haftar "oversaw the operation that freed the women".
  • Libya and Niger share a long border through the Sahara Desert. It was not immediately clear why Libyan forces freed the two women and who held them captive.

 

SOFIA, BULGARIA – Judge authorizes arrest warrant for two Germans over Starlink fire

  • Reuters reports Monday that a Bulgarian court approved a European arrest warrant for two German nationals accused of setting fire to SpaceX Starlink antennas near Sofia.
  • Prosecutors believe the two suspects entered the country from Serbia and went back there after their arson attack.
  • The men face between three and 12 years in prison, if convicted. 

 

SOFIA, BULGARIA – Bomb threat forces detour of Tel Aviv Vienna flight

  • Deutsche Welle reports Monday that an Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna made an emergency landing in Sofia following a bomb threat.
  • The flight had 51 passengers and six crew members aboard, when a bomb threat came in near the Bulgarian-Romanian border. The Airbus A320 was escorted by a Bulgarian MiG-29 fighter jet.
  • Austrian Airlines said there was "'no danger" following "a search of the aircraft, passengers and crew". The flight then continued on to Vienna.

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Mass protests escalate into widespread looting

  • Politico reports Saturday that widespread looting of luxury retailers, grocery stores, and other businesses occurred amid protests across France following weeks of demonstrations over education quality and the rising cost of living.
  • In Paris, rioters battled police forces "next to a much larger number of demonstrators" who gathered for an authorized march. Paris police said, "A very large majority of people are protesting without violence". However, by evening reports of looting emerged from various cities and France's Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed "ultraleft groups" in a post on X for the violence.
  • Last weekend's demonstrations originated with student protests calling for better  conditions and more funding. French authorities said 550,000 people took part in the protests, around 2,400 protesters were detained, about 1,000 policemen were injured. One teenager reportedly lost his hand and another lost one eye as a result of the police response.

 

NANCY-OCHEY, FRANCE – Fighter jet crash leaves one dead

  • Reuters reports Wednesday that after a fighter jet crashed in northeastern France, one person was killed and one was missing.
  • The plane, a Mirage 2000D with a pilot and a weapons navigator aboard, was on a training mission when it went down in the Meurthe-et-Moselle region.
  • The cause of the accident remains unclear.

 

MILAN, ITALY – Prime Minister dispatches soldiers in response to Milan riots

  • Reuters reports Monday that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni dispatched 500 army troops to Milan after police clashed with demonstrators in the northern city and elsewhere last Saturday, resulting in property damage and looting in the touristic city center.
  • In Milan, the police used tear gas after protesters threw stones and 316 young people were detained last Saturday. In Bologna, police used a water cannon to disperse crowds while seven were taken into custody. In Turin, 28 protesters were arrested. Meloni reacted to the clashes on X, saying "demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not."
  • The Financial Times reports messages circulating on social media on Tuesday urged "teenagers to storm, vandalise and set fire" to Milan's universities, with one message reading "let's kill the future rich". A self-proclaimed "October 17 Movement" released an Instagram manifesto describing itself as an unstructured movement and accusing Meloni's administration of "authoritarianism, suppressing dissent and responding to youth discontent with batons and decrees".

 

NAPLES, ITALY – US naval base authorizes work from home due to fuel shortages

  • The US military newspaper Stars and Stripes reports Thursday that the US Navy base in Naples "authorzed remote work for personnel" in an effort "to mitigate the impacts of a regional trucking protest that has disrupted travel and caused widespread food and fuel shortages."
  • Additionally, "Tenant commans at Naval Support Activity Naples, including US Naval Forces Europe-Africa/US 6th Fleet, also are implementing similar contingency measures". The measures "are in place for the rest of the week."
  • In southern Italy, "Truck blockades have caused miles-long gridlock on roads, resulting in lengthy commutes and resulting in panic-buying". The protests extend from "Puglia and Sicily, and spread to Campania over the weekend." Naples is located in Campania.

 

ROME, ITALY – Italy opens probes into Israeli defense minister over Gaza flotilla

  • Reuters reports last Friday that Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz was "placed under investigation over the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists" along with other Israeli officials such as military chief Eyal Zamir.
  • The move widens an existing probe that was previously investigating Israel's far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Investigators are looking into "suspected torture, kidnapping, personal injury, robbery and damage" around Israeli forces' interception of fleets of small boats headed for Gaza in 2025 and 2026. Prosecutors opened the probe "after complaints from 50 Italian citizens" who took part in the flotillas and were arrested by Israeli authorities. According to the Italian authorities, activists taking part in the first mission reported "beatings, injuries, death threats, insults and accusations of terrorism" and participants in the second mission allegedly experienced "beatings in the dark, the use of tasers and ​rubber bullets".
  • According to prosecutors, Italy sought judicial assistance from Israel. It is, however, unclear how Israeli authorities reacted to the request.

 

BRANDENBURG STATE, GERMANY – Ukrainian arrested for espionage on behalf of Russia

  • Reuters reports Thursday that "A Ukrainian national has been arrested in the German state of Brandenburg," the federal state surrounding the capital Berlin, "on suspicion of spying for Russia".
  • The suspect has been identified only as Vadim Y. according to strict German privacy laws and has allegedly "been in contact with a Russian secret service via an intermediary since at least July 2025".
  • Prosecutors allege Vadim Y. "gathered military-related intelligence, including information on the production of armored vehicles, ammunition and explosives, as well as personnel and installations involved in securing NATO's eastern flank."

 

LEIPZIG/HALLE AIRPORT, GERMANY – Novice driver breaches Leipzig airport 'practicing'

  • Deutsche Welle reports Monday that "two men admitted to breaking through a fence at Leipzig/Halle airport while one of them was practicing for a driving test."
  • The breach happened on Saturday and triggered a major security operation. On Sunday evening, the two men, aged 20 and 32, reached out to the police. Police opened an investigation into the student driver for fleeing the scene after breaking through the fence.
  • Leipzig airport is a major logistics hub in NATO's effort to support Ukraine. In August, prosecutors found a drone laden with explosives near a Ukrainian cargo plane and German authorities later stated that Russia was responsible for the incident.

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Hackers publish thousands of emails of far-right party AfD

  • Deutsche Welle reports Tuesday that hackers stole and published roughly 420,000 emails from the far-right political party Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD).
  • According to an AfD spokesperson, the cyberattack occurred last month. The published material contained emails from senior party figures including co-leader Alice Weidel but also "bank statements, academic certificates and membership lists".
  • It is unclear who was responsible for the hack. The German newspaper Die Zeit authenticated random samples of the data trove and came to the preliminary conclusion that most of the noteworthy incidents described in the emails are already publicly known.

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Iranian envoy summoned over planned murder of Jewish leader

  • Reuters reports Monday that the German Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador after two men were sentenced for planning to kill Jewish community leaders Josef Schuster and Volker Beck in Germany.
  • In its ruling, the German court said that "one of the men had ⁠been steered by Iran's intelligence service."
  • Iran called the accusations baseless and reacted to the summoning of its envoy by summoning the German ambassador to Iran in return.

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – The Left calls allegations of anti-Semitism a 'smear campaign'

  • German news agency dpa reports Saturday that The Left Party in Germany "sharply rejected accusations of anti-Semitism in the far-left party's chapter in Berlin".
  • Co-leader Ines Schwerdtner said at a conference that the Left "is being attacked for calling Israel's actions in Gaza a 'genocide'" and added that her party was being attacked for upholding international law. The Left has consistently rejected allegations of antisemitism, and now that the party could become part of the new Berlin state government, the issue became a central point of coalition negotiations. Schwerdtner argues that "criticizing the Israeli government is not anti-Semitism".
  • Schwerdtner's assurances stand against numerous statements that indicate the opposite. In March of this year, The Left Party in the state of Lower Saxony rejected "Zionism as it exists today" in a declaration.

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – European media mogul tried to buy European arm of TikTok

  • The Financial Times reports Thursday that Mathias Döpfner, head of the Axel Springer media empire which owns titles including Politico and The Telegraph, "sought to hive off and acquire a stake in TikTok's European operations".
  • Reportedly, Döpfner presented his plan to Charles Kushner, the father of Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Kushner Sr. serves as the US ambassador to France. In January, Döpfner proposed that Axel Springer "could be part of a deal to buy" TikTok's European business. Seemingly, Döpfner was inspired by the deal Trump set up to "spin off TikTok's US arm" to mitigate "national security concerns about the platform's Chinese owners".
  • Döpfner has said in the past that TikTok "should either be sold to democratic shareholders or banned". Axel Springer did not comment on Döpfner's overtures toward Ambassador Kushner; the company did, however, say that it would gladly be part of a "European solution for TikTok".

 

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC – Pro-Western opposition wins parliamentary elections

  • The Washington Post reports Saturday that pro-Western opposition parties will maintain control of the upper chamber of the Czech Parliament.
  • Of the 27 seats up for grabs, the opposition won 22. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's coalition, on the other hand, did not win a single contested seat. Babiš called the election results "catastrophic". His and his coalition partners' agenda includes reducing support for Ukraine and opposing some major EU policies.
  • The Czech Senate plays an important role in amending the constitution and in approving judges of the Constitutional Court.

 

BASEL, SWITZERLAND – Hackers blackmail Swiss pension funds with stolen data

  • Blue News reports Tuesday that the hacker group Akira attacked an IT company managing the pension fund of current and former federal employees.
  • PK Softech AG, the company hacked at the end of September, provides services to several Swiss pension funds. The hacking group Akira stole sensitive information, such as phone numbers, email addresses and places of residence, on well over 100,000" current and former state employees. Among the people affected are former members of the Federal Council and federal judges; current members of government were not affected. The data breach poses a particular danger for members of the Federal Intelligence Service or the Federal Office of Police Fedpol "who work under a cover identity".
  • Akira reportedly demands a ransom, threatening to publish the stolen data if the demand is not met. The federal government has established a task force to deal with the fallout of the breach. It is unclear whether it contemplates paying the ransom demand.

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss army repeatedly rejected offers from US tech firm Palantir

  • Swissinfo reports Monday that over the past years the Swiss army has considered and rejected five offers to collaborate with the controversial US data software company Palantir.
  • Reportedly, "concern about the security of confidential data" was one reason why the Swiss army opted against working with Palantir. The firm provides AI models and software to quickly analyze and process huge swaths of data. According to the company, some of Palantir's products are aimed at preventing terrorist attacks while others claim to offer real-time analysis on the battlefield.
  • To prevent any cooperation between the Swiss army and Palantir, the Green Party submitted a parliamentary initiative demanding "a ban on contracts with foreign providers of such services", referring to "concerns about the transparency and security of confidential data".

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Security company accused of 20,000 breaches of labor law

  • Swissinfo reports Monday that Securitas, a Swiss firm providing security services, is accused of having "forced employees to work many excessively long shifts for years".
  • The Swiss public broadcaster SRF analyzed internal data and reportedly found "around 20,000 breaches of the Labour Act between 2023 and 2025", which affected around 900 employees. The main concerns seem to have been "excessively long shifts and insufficient rest periods". The affected employees were working in jails, hospitals and centers for asylum seekers. An expert said the findings constitute "the exploitation of staff".
  • Securitas admitted that "in some cases" its practices went against labour law and the company's own values. The firm, however, rejected the suggestion of having breached labour law systematically.

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Unauthorized rally followed by riots

  • Swissinfo reports Sunday that an unauthorized demonstration in Bern was followed by riots Saturday night.
  • Rioters launched fireworks at emergency services and attacked them with "dangerous objects". The police responded with rubber bullets and rubber pellets.
  • No injuries were reported.

 

VADUZ, LIECHTENSTEIN – Prince blocks abortion bill

  • Politico reports Wednesday that Liechtenstein's Hereditary Prince Alois vetoed a bill that would have made abortions legal during the first trimester of a woman's pregnancy.
  • Prince Alois' veto puts an end to a citizens' initiative signed by a quarter of Liechtenstein's voters and passed by parliament. A statement of the princely house read that the bill was not "suitable for adequately protecting unborn life".
  • Currently, abortion is illegal in the principality, unless the woman's life is at risk or the pregnancy resulted from sexual assault. Women seeking an abortion normally turn to clinics in Switzerland or Austria.

 

Stay safe and prepare as (almost) everything that can go wrong will go wrong!

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