Hundreds of German police officers raided the properties of Hamas members and followers of the terrorist group on Thursday morning in the wake of a formal ban on any action by or in support of the anti-Israel activists.
The German government implemented the ban on Nov. 2 and dissolved Samidoun, an Islamist group behind a celebration in Berlin of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel that claimed approximately 1,200 lives.
The pre-dawn strike came just hours after Switzerland announced it is readying legislation to ban the Palestinian group plus its followers, as Breitbart News reported.
AP reports Germany’s domestic intelligence service estimates Hamas has around 450 members in the country. Their activities range from vocal support and propaganda activities to financing and fundraising activities to strengthen the terror organization abroad.
“We are continuing our consistent action against radical Islamists,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser reportedly said. “By banning Hamas and Samidoun in Germany, we have sent a clear signal that we will not tolerate any glorification or support of Hamas’ barbaric terror against Israel.”
Nancy Faeser (SPD), Federal Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs, has launched a ban on the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas and the pro-Palestinian network Samidoun in Germany. (Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The nationwide raids were meant to enforce the bans and to further investigate the groups, the German interior ministry said in a statement seen by AP.
A total of 15 properties were searched in Berlin and the states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein.
Thursday’s mass intervention came after similar efforts on Tuesday when police raided the homes of 17 people in the southern German state of Bavaria who were accused of spreading antisemitic hate speech and threats targeting Jews online, the AP report details.
Policemen stand on November 23, 2023 in front of a house in Berlin’s Friedrichshain district, as a raid was under way against Hamas and another Palestinian organisation which are banned in the country.( ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)
On Nov. 16, German police raided 54 locations across the country in an investigation of a Hamburg-based organization suspected of promoting the Iranian leadership’s ideology and possibly supporting activities of Hezbollah in Germany.
“We are keeping a close eye on the Islamist scene,” Faeser said. “Islamists and antisemites cannot and must not feel safe anywhere here.” She said the members and supporters of Hamas in Germany are also committed to influencing the political and social discourse in the country.
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