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In Germany there are currently 124 “Islamist threats” at large.

So 124 people who the authorities trust a terrorist attack at any time.

There are also 151 others for which the Federal Criminal Police Office speaks of a “moderate risk”.

This emerges from a response by the federal government to a request from the Greens, which WELT is exclusively available.

What to do?

Lock up and deport?

This impulse is understandable, as the most important and urgent thing about these potential murder boys is how to stop them from doing what they do if you don't prevent them.

Deportations can also serve this goal.

But of the total of 240 “Islamist threats”, 135 have German citizenship.

You can't deport them.

41 are Syrian citizens.

The problem of jihadism was not imported to Germany in 2015, but has been exacerbated by migration since then.

But the rule of law prohibits deportations to Syria.

The same applies to the others: a potential terrorist whom the authorities have in view is better than one who gets off the radar and takes action elsewhere.

An attack on the University of Kabul is no less bloody than an attack on the Christmas market in Berlin.

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And it has been proven that it is not a good idea to allow any place in the world to become the playground of the jihadist international.

It is therefore correct that the authorities have even issued an exit ban for some of these people.

And in a constitutional state, you cannot lock someone up without justified suspicion of a specific crime.

But what you can and must do: Observe "threats" and intervene in good time.

The German authorities have done this successfully several times over the past few years.

But there may still be one or the other loophole in the law.

No information about gun ownership

So it seems strange that the federal government admits that it has no information about permitted and illegal possession of weapons in this milieu, since weapons law is a state issue.

On the whole, however, the existing laws are sufficient.

Without police and intelligence resources, Islamist terrorism cannot be fought.

But not with them either.

It takes prevention.

And for this one must also hold the Muslim associations accountable, however problematic they may be in other respects.