The German police launched a major operation this Thursday, with 54 searches in seven regions, against an Islamist center suspected of supporting the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, the Interior Ministry announced.
“The Islamic Center of Hamburg (IZH) is suspected of acting against the constitutional order,” says the Federal Ministry of the Interior, in a statement cited by the newspaper Di Welt. Furthermore, German police suspect that IZH supported Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In a message published on the social network X (formerly Twitter), the Federal Ministry of the Interior reiterates that the investigation raises “serious suspicions” and that Germany “does not tolerate Islamic propaganda.”
“At a time when many Jews feel particularly threatened, we do not tolerate Islamist propaganda or anti-Semitic and anti-Israel campaigns,” it reads.
„Wir haben die islamistische Szene im Visier. Wir dulden no islamistische Propaganda, no antisemitische & israelfeindliche Hetze. Die Verdachtsmomente gegen das ‚Islamische Zentrum Hamburg” (IZH) wiegen schwer.” BM’in @NancyFaeser
– Federal Ministry of the Interior and Housing (@BMI_Bund) November 16, 2023
Following Thursday’s police operation, hundreds of officers carried out searches in 54 buildings in seven states, including the Blue Mosque (Imam Ali) in Hamburg.
Germany considers Hezbollah a terrorist organization and banned its activities in the country in April 2020.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to protect Jews in Germany as he commemorated the 85th anniversary of the pogrom (persecution) of Crystal Night, a week ago, in a context of resurgence of anti-Semitic acts since the start of the war between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas, at the beginning of October.
Germany and many other countries also fear that the conflict in the Middle East will be reignited, particularly in Lebanon, through Hezbollah.
News updated at 9:29 am
Source: TSF
