German police begin hunt for Hezbollah and Iran
In what could be called a nationwide operation, hundreds of police on 16th November raided properties across Germany over suspected links to the Iran-backed Shia Hezbollah group, authorities said, as Berlin rushes to stem a rash of antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Germany is one EU country which particularly stands out as fervently supportive of Israel and its daily slaughter of innocent civilians in Gaza, with a recent story of an air force chief visiting Tel Aviv who gave blood for IDF soldiers getting the media spotlight for a while.
In Germany itself, the raids targeting 54 sites came after Germany banned Hamas activities and related organizations, in the wake of the deadly October 7 attack carried out by the group in Israel, according to AFP.
“We have the Islamist scene in our sights,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
“At a time when numerous Jews feel particularly threatened” Germany will “not tolerate neither Islamist propaganda nor antisemitist incitement hostile to Israel,” she added.
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No arrests were made during the raids, which were carried out to gather evidence on the suspicion that the Hamburg center and the affiliated groups which back the activities of the Lebanese Shia group. The operation targeted the Hamburg Islamic Centre and five affiliated groups, according to reports.
Iran’s ideology, spread in these centres, is said to be illegal in Germany.
The Hamburg Islamic Centre had already been under surveillance by domestic intelligence, and the interior ministry believes its activities are “aimed at spreading the revolutionary concept of [Iran’s] supreme leaders, something that is suspected to violate Germany’s constitutional order.”
AFP/Levantis
