Hezbollah banned from operating in Germany as police conduct raids
The Islamist Hezbollah movement has been banned from operating in Germany following a decision by the interior minister, while police conducted dawn raids at mosques and other locations linked with the group on Thursday.
The Islamist Hezbollah organization, founded in Lebanon in 1982, draws its support from the Shiite community. It has been blamed for numerous attacks against Israel and has ties to Iran.
Police raids were carried out on four mosques and organizations associated with Hezbollah, in Berlin, Dortmund, Munster and Bremen.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer declared the ban and a corresponding prohibition order, seen by dpa, states Hezbollah’s symbols are also now banned in Germany. Supporters of the group are prohibited from assembling and assets may also be confiscated.
The German government does not expect the ban to result in attacks in Germany or German interests to be affected in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is in government.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency estimates that there are about 1,050 potentially extremist individuals linked to Hezbollah in the country. They do not comprise an official organization in Germany, but work unofficially, doing fundraising, among other activities, according to security officials.
In December, the German parliament passed a resolution calling on the federal government to place an outright ban on Hezbollah and pressed other EU countries to take similar measures.
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Israel’s ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff praised the decision on Twitter.
“We welcome this extremely significant and meaningful step by Germany in combatting international terror,” he tweeted. (dpa)
