“Those who support terrorism will not be safe in Germany,” Seehofer’s spokesman quoted him as saying on Twitter…reports Asian Lite News.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has banned three organisations known to have collected money for projects of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah in Germany.
The bans on German Lebanese Family, People for People and Give Peace had already been pronounced on April 15, a ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.
Raids were carried out and offices were searched in Bremen, Hesse, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein and Rhineland-Palatinate, DPA reported.
“Those who support terrorism will not be safe in Germany,” Seehofer’s spokesman quoted him as saying on Twitter.
“Regardless of the garb in which his supporters appear, they will not find a place of retreat in our country,” added the Minister, who is currently in quarantine at home after infected with Covid.
The three banned groups are said to have collected donations and arranged sponsorships for Hezbollah “martyred families.”
The aim of the organizations was to promote Hezbollah’s fight against Israel, which goes against the idea of international understanding, the ministry said.
The certainty that the bereaved would receive financial support in the event of their death increases the willingness of young Hezbollah supporters to take part in the fight against Israel.
In March last year, Germany banned ban Hezbollah activity on its soil.
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency estimates that there are about 1,050 Hezbollah members and supporters currently in the country.
They do not comprise an official organization in Germany, but work unofficially, doing fundraising, among other activities, according to security officials.
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Meanwhile, the German government has condemned the recent anti-Israel rallies staged across the country in the wake of ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip, and vowed to ramp up protection for Jewish institutions.
Government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said on Friday that peaceful demonstrations against Israel’s policies were allowed in Germany, “but anyone who uses such protests to shout out their hatred of Jews is abusing the right to protest”, dpa news agency reported.
“Anti-Semitic rallies will not be tolerated by our democracy,” he added.
Those who protest in front of a synagogue and damage Jewish symbols were not criticising a state, but showed “aggression and hatred against a religion and those who belong to it,” Seibert stressed.
“We oppose this with all the strength of a democratic constitutional state.”
In recent days, police have intervened at anti-Israel rallies and boosted their presence at synagogues throughout the country after several instances of vandalism and the burning of Israeli flags.
Seibert said the authorities were working with the utmost commitment to solve the crimes, punish the perpetrators and protect Jewish institutions.
Earlier, the Israeli ambassador to Germany, Jeremy Issacharoff, called on the authorities to ensure the safety of the Jewish community.
The government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, also asked Islamic associations in Germany to stand up against violence.
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