A Syrian refugee arrested over the stabbing of a tourist at Berlin's Holocaust memorial had been planning "to kill Jews", prosecutors said on Saturday, the day before an election which is expected to see a surge in support for the anti-migrant AfD.

Authorities in Berlin have detained a teenage Syrian refugee after a man was stabbed near the city’s Holocaust Memorial late Friday – as divisive rhetoric swells over Germany’s immigration policy, ahead of a consequential national election.

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.