‘The threat of far-right terrorism is high, which means you always have to be prepared for an attack.’

BERLIN—At a press conference on Thursday, one day after the attack against a synagogue in Halle, Germany’s Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said: “We, unfortunately, have to face the truth, which is that the threat of anti-Semitism, right-wing extremism, and right-wing terrorism is very high, and has been for some time now.”

The minister visited the synagogue which was targeted by a neo-nazi in an attack that left two dead and two injured.

Seehofer batted away the suggestion at the press conference that the security forces under his authority had in some way been blind to far-right terror in recent years, and concentrated too much on the threat of immigration.

“If you come to a new security situation, you have to make a new assessment,” Seehofer said.

“The threat of far-right terrorism is high, which means you always have to be prepared for an attack,” said Seehofer.

The authorities emphasized that they were working on the assumption that the gunman had planned the attack alone, though they did not rule out that he connections in the far-right network.

German Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said the incident in Halle was being treated as a “far-right terror attack” carried out by an individual.