The estimated 72,000 Moroccan migrants who flooded into the Spanish city of Ceuta within 24 hours is shining the spotlight on Europe’s massive problem of illegal and legal migration and the threat of growing Islamic terrorism.Mideast and European commentators who closely follow Islamic extremism across the continent say Europe’s political class needs to tackle the origins of radical Islamism to prevent terrorism.According to a July Europol (formerly known as the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation) report, Spain recorded the highest number of arrests (117) for "jihadist terrorism-related offenses" within the European Union during 2025.CEUTA MIGRANT SURGE EXPOSES SPAIN-MOROCCO TENSIONS AS ISLAMIST GROUPS REPORTEDLY SEEK TO EXPLOIT BORDER CRISISMoroccan security forces clash with migrants attempting to cross into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta near the town of Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border, on July 31, 2026.(Abdel Majid Bziouat / AFP via Getty Images)Some Spanish outlets claimed that the Spanish Civil Guard and police identified "about a dozen" individuals previously deported from Spain for suspected terror-related offenses among those who entered Ceuta last week.
However, Euro News reported that Spain’s interior ministry said it has not confirmed those reports. Quoting the ministry, it stated that "The Spanish public and the people of Ceuta can be confident that the arrivals on 30 July do not pose a threat to public security." The report also cited the interior ministry as saying that so far this year 82 people had been arrested for offenses related to jihadist terrorism.Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University, and expert on Islamism in Europe and North America, told Fox News Digital, "This is Europe.This is the way it has been for the last 15 years, with some ebbs and flows." He said about the new Europol report that "It is more in line with the last 10 years.
Europe has sadly ...