Worthy Christian News > World News > Germany Raids Suspected Hezbollah Strongholds

Germany Raids Suspected Hezbollah Strongholds

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BERLIN/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – German police raided 54 locations Thursday as part of a nationwide crackdown on a group that allegedly supports Iran-backed Hezbollah, viewed by Germany as a terrorist organization, officials confirmed.

Security forces targeted the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) on suspicion of undermining Germany’s “constitutional order” and supporting Hezbollah — which is banned in Germany, the interior ministry explained.

Authorities are investigating whether the Hamburg-based center promotes the Iranian ideology as part of its support for Hezbollah, the government said.

“The suspicions against the ‘Islamic Center Hamburg’ are serious,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser explained in a statement.

Wednesday’s raids were apparently carefully planned. The IZH “has long been monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and classified as Islamist. Further measures based on the rule of law must be well prepared,” the minister said.

The IZH has denied wrongdoing, saying that it “condemns every form of violence and extremism and has always advocated peace, tolerance and interreligious dialogue.”

Wednesday’s raids come after Hezbollah fired an increasing number of rockets into Israel from neighboring Lebanon.

POLICE ACTIONS

The police actions come at a fine when Germany’s government and the main opposition have united in support of Israel and the Jewish community after antisemitic incidents in Germany following the Hamas killings of 1,200 people in the Jewish nation.

“We have the Islamist scene in our sights,” Faeser said in an apparent warning to suspected extremists. “Especially now, at a time when many Jews feel particularly threatened, we generally do not tolerate Islamist propaganda or antisemitic and anti-Israel incitement.”

Authorities said IZH’s activities are “aimed at spreading the revolutionary concept of the Supreme (Iranian) leaders.”

The Interior Ministry said German intelligence believes the IZH exerts significant influence or full control over some other mosques and groups and that they often promote a “clearly antisemitic and anti-Israel attitude.”

It stressed that authorities are examining whether the organization can be banned, and material seized during the searches would be evaluated.

Wednesday’s raids were carried out in Hamburg and six other German states — Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria in the south, Berlin, and Hesse, North-Rhine Westphalia and Lower Saxony in the west and northwest, Worthy News learned.

In addition to IZH, the investigation also targets five other groups suspected of being sub-organizations of it.

FORMAL BAN

Earlier this month, Minister Faeser already implemented a formal ban on activity by or in support of Hamas and dissolved Samidoun, a group that was behind “a celebration in Berlin” of Hamas’ attack on Israel.

She followed up on a pledge made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz shortly after the attack, pledging to tackle hatred of Jews in a nation still reeling from its role in the Holocaust, or Shoah, when 6 million Jews were killed.

The German federal prosecutor’s office said separately that about 20 locations in the Hannover region were searched on Thursday in an investigation of five alleged members of Hezbollah.

They are accused of taking leading roles in two local groups steered by the terrorist organization, according to prosecutors.

While they are being investigated on suspicion of membership in a foreign terrorist organization, there were no arrests, said authorities involved in the raids.

The crackdown on extremist groups in Europe’s largest economy is part of a broader struggle within the European Union which has been confronted with several anti-Israel rallies and attacks.