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 arrested a man suspected in a stabbing attack Friday at Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial that left a Spanish tourist seriously injured, police said. There was no immediate indication of a motive for the attack,