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PROHIBITION: German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer prohibits Hezbollah from operating in Germany. Photo: HENNING SCHACHT / POOL / ACTION PRESS POOL
The German federal government bans Hezbollah. The facilities of four organizations linked to the Islamist terrorist organization are being searched in Berlin, Bremen and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The German newspaper Die Welt reports on Thursday morning.
Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) banned Hezbollah on Thursday, according to the Bild newspaper, a decision later confirmed by the ministry.
Police raided mosques and four groups in Dortmund, Berlin, Münster and Bremen on Thursday morning.
Hezbollah does not have a formal structure in Germany. The group, designated a terrorist organization by German federal authorities, uses Germany to seek refuge and raise money, according to security authorities.
The organization belongs to Lebanon and is accused of attacking Israel.
According to Die Welt, German security authorities estimate that up to 1050 people in Germany are connected to Hezbollah. They are mainly found in local mosques.
The fact that the German authorities are taking action today may also be related to Hezbollah’s desire to avoid participating in Al-Quds Day, which falls this year on May 16, the last Friday of Ramadan. A day where demonstrations often take place against Israel in various parts of the world.
“Al-Quds Day is a construction that Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini introduced in the 1980s, and that Hezbollah adopted,” Middle East expert Kai Kverme told VG.
He says Germany has operated with an artificial distinction between what is the military and political part of Hezbollah. In Lebanon, no one separates Hezbollah that way, Hezbollah is Hezbollah, whether they have representatives in the Lebanese government or are in uniform, says Kai Kverme.
The federal government in Germany strengthened its relationship with Hezbollah from September last year, when the Attorney General was authorized to take legal action against suspected members of foreign terrorist organizations.
The four organizations that received the police early today have been under surveillance by the German security authorities for several years.
The EU has classified Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization since 2013. The United States and Israel have urged Germany to ban the entire Islamist organization.
