The European Union is currently facing a particularly heightened risk of terrorist attacks due to the war in Gaza, he warned European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.

“With the war between Israel and Hamas and the polarization it is causing in our society, with the upcoming holiday season, there is a huge risk of terrorist attacks in the EU,” Johansson commented while attending a meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels

The European commissioner referred to Saturday’s knife attack in Paris, which killed a German tourist and injured two others, and to previous incidents.

Johansson pointed out that “an additional 30 million euros will be allocated to the protection of, for example, places of worship.”

European ministers will discuss security in the EU in light of the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine on Tuesday. Also on the agenda for the talks is the Schengen free movement zone and reform of the bloc’s asylum and immigration system.