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Germany bans pro-Hamas group supporting ‘Palestinian resistance’

“In many cases nothing other than hatred for Jews is hidden behind solidarity with Palestine,” said Herbert Reul, interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Pro-Palestinian Rally in Berlin, Germany
A pro-Palestinian rally in Berlin, Nov. 4, 2023. Credit: Streets of Berlin via Wikimedia Commons.

German authorities on Thursday banned Palestine Solidarity Duisburg, which had expressed solidarity with “Palestinian resistance in all forms,” according to the Associated Press.

Police raided four properties in the city of Duisburg linked to the group.

The Interior Ministry in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia also accused the group of spreading antisemitic narratives.

The move “sends the right signal,” said the region’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul, adding that “in many cases nothing other than hatred for Jews is hidden behind solidarity with Palestine, as in the case of the organization banned today.”

In February, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported that Berlin would cease funding six Palestinian NGOs that were declared terrorist organizations in 2021 by then Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

In November, The German federal government announced a complete ban on Hamas activities in the country following the Palestinian terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 Israelis.

“With Hamas, I have today completely banned the activities of a terrorist organization whose aim is to destroy the State of Israel,” said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser at the time.

The German wing of Samidoun, a Palestinian organization with close ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group, was also disbanded.

Faeser said that Samidoun worked under the guise of a solidarity group for Palestinian prisoners to spread antisemitic hate and anti-Israel propaganda.

Samidoun’s German branch had previously organized a march in Berlin where the mainly German Muslim participants chanted “Death to Jews” and “Death to Israel.”

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