The grim threat picture for the Netherlands has ‘become worse in many respects’ last year, the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) said in its annual report for 2023. Global jihadism continued to be the main threat to the Netherlands last year, reports the employ.
For example, Western intelligence services in Europe have foiled ‘a dozen’ attack plans. In Germany, an attack was prevented around the Cathedral in Cologne around the turn of the year. There, Islamists are said to have planned to commit an attack with a car. An attack on the Dutch consulate in Istanbul was also thwarted in early 2023. In the Netherlands, people were arrested in four cases after the AIVD warned in an official message.
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The service saw a revival of jihadism and an increased threat last year, fueled by Koran destruction and the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The movement attacked Israel on October 7, killing hundreds of people. “The conflict in Gaza has led to a hardening of extremist positions in 2023,” the AIVD said. The war between Ukraine and Russia also continues to pose a threat. The service sees that the attitude of the Russians towards the West has hardened in the past year.
Economic benefit from cyber attacks
According to the AIVD, the ‘balance of power that has existed in the world for a long time is out of balance’ and that is partly what makes the situation ‘so precarious’. It leads countries to try to gain economic advantage through cyber attacks, but also through espionage or interference in domestic affairs. ‘Sometimes with great brutality’. sees the service. ‘For example, Russia tried to influence our public debate in 2023 and had a hand in demonstrations in the Netherlands against Western support for Ukraine.’
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The AIVD will intensify its investigation into the threat from China this year. “The country is affecting the earning capacity of Dutch businesses through cyber attacks, use of espionage, insiders, clandestine investments and illegal exports,” the agency said. ‘China is actually able to shape global relations to its will. The consequences of this for the Netherlands could be far-reaching.’
Democratic legal order threatened
In addition, the AIVD also investigated criminal networks that allegedly threaten the democratic legal order through ‘extreme violence, infiltration and corruption’. According to the agency, these networks pose a national security problem. ‘Protecting this is a task of the AIVD.’
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