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PARIS: The armed man who seized six hostages in a French bank on Thursday spoke to negotiators of hardships facing Palestinians but made no reference to extremist groups.
The 34-year-old suspect had a history of mental health illness and spent time in a psychiatric hospital after taking several hostages in another bank in 2013.
On that occasion, he demanded social housing for himself and a handicapped son.
During the six hour-long negotiations with police, in Le Havre on Thursday, the suspect never expressed support for Daesh or other extremist groups.
“He constantly asked for Palestinian children to be freed from Israeli jails, and Palestinians under 40 to pray in Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem,” a French police source said.
The man was known to law enforcement agencies. He was on a “Fiche S” security agency watch list that includes individuals the authorities consider susceptible to religious radicalization.
Investigators say there has been a trend of mental illness and religious radicalization in some attacks that have shaken France in recent years, making predicting behavior difficult.
“These are hazardous profiles, you never know what to expect from them,” the police source said.
The suspect lived in Paris at the time of the 2013 incident and later moved to the northern Seine-Maritime department.
He told the police trying to coax him out of the bank in Le Havre that he was carrying a bomb and threatened to use it if police came closer.
“But he never physically or verbally abused his hostages and negotiations never broke down,” the source said, adding that no explosives were found.
The man walked out shortly after 22:45 (2045 GMT) with the green flag of Palestinian militant group Hamas wrapped around his shoulders.
All six hostages were freed unharmed.