Germany raids groups suspected of supporting Hamas

Two Islamist organizations believed to have raised funds for Palestinian terror group ‘under the cover of humanitarian aid’

By ToI Staff and Agencies 10 April 2019, 1:08 pm

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Illustrative: German police stand in front of a Dresden courthouse where a trial against a Syrian jihadist is set to begin, in Dresden, Germany, Monday, March 18, 2019. (Jens Meyer/AP)

German authorities have carried out raids on groups suspected of helping the Palestinian terror group Hamas under the guise of providing humanitarian aid.

The interior ministry said Wednesday that some 90 properties across Germany associated with an “Islamist network” were searched on Wednesday. It said the network was headed by two groups based in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, WorldWide Resistance-Help and Ansaar International.

On their websites, the two groups say they raise charitable funds for Gaza, Somalia, Syria and other countries.

The ministry said there are indications that the network provided financial and propaganda support to Hamas, a longtime enemy of Israel that runs the Gaza Strip and was listed as a terror group by the European Union in 2001.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said that “anyone who supports Hamas under the cover of humanitarian aid flouts fundamental value judgments of our constitution and discredits the commitment of many aid organizations.”