The suspect appeared to have been planning to kill Jews for several weeks, apparently motivated by the Middle East conflict, which is why he chose the location, the prosecutors said.

German authorities said a Syrian suspect was intending “to kill Jews” when he stabbed a tourist in Berlin on Friday, the latest in a string of attacks by refugees and asylum seekers ahead of a crucial election on Sunday.

Police in Berlin say they have arrested a man suspected in a stabbing attack at the city's Holocaust Memorial that left one man seriously injured.