Hundreds of German police searched 15 properties linked to Hamas members and supporters on Thursday following a recent ban on the Palestinian militant group’s activities.
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The following Thursday morning, German authorities searched the property of Hamas members, supporters and sympathizers an official ban about any activity by or in support of the Palestinian militant group.
The formal ban was implemented on November 2nd. On the same day, Samidoun, a group that celebrated Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7 in Berlin, was officially disbanded.
“We are continuing our consistent action against radical Islamists,” said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. “By banning Hamas and Samidoun in Germany, we have sent a clear signal that we will not tolerate glorification or support of Hamas’ barbaric terror against Israel,” she added.
According to German authorities, Hamas has about 450 members in the country, whose activities include expressions of sympathy, propaganda activities, financing and fundraising for the militant group.
Most of Thursday’s raids – which began at 6 a.m. local time – took place in the German capital, where more than 300 police searched 11 locations. Seven of the sites were linked to Hamas and four to Samidoun. Further searches were carried out in the federal states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein.
German officials had already taken action this week to crack down on anti-Semitism in the country. On Tuesday, police searched the homes of 17 people in the southern state of Bavaria who were accused of spreading anti-Semitic hate speech and threats against the Jewish community.
“We are closely monitoring the Islamist scene,” said Faeser about the searches. “Islamists and anti-Semites cannot and must not feel safe anywhere here.”