Mosques affiliated with Hezbollah were raided in the early hours of the morning after Germany entirely banned the Lebanese Shiite group from the country.
The Thursday move is a major blow to Hezbollah, which enjoys large amounts of support from Iran. Previously only Hezbollah’s “military” wing was outlawed but not its “political” wing.
The United States and Israel have long pushed back on those labels and said they are one in the same. Richard Grenell, who is concurrently serving as U.S. ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence, accused the European Union of having an “artificial distinction” between the wings. The German interior ministry said it now viewed the totality of Hezbollah as a “Shiite terrorist organization,” according to Agence France-Presse.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz hailed the move and said the ban was “a significant step in the global fight against terrorism.” He additionally urged the EU to follow suit with its own ban. Grenell also called on the EU to move forward with a Hezbollah prohibition.
“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization deemed responsible for numerous attacks and kidnappings worldwide,” said Interior Minister Horst Seehofer. “Even in times of crisis, the rule of law is upheld,” his spokesman later added.
Police and German special operations forces raided mosques and other Hezbollah facilities across the country early on Thursday. More than a dozen police officers were seen entering and leaving al Irshad mosque in Berlin, which was sealed off. The terrorist organization is thought to use Germany as a sort of safe haven to plan and collect funding to better finance the group. There are an estimated 1,000 members operating in Germany.
Seehofer noted Hezbollah’s hatred of Israel and how the group had called for its downfall and destruction. He also said Germany had a “historic responsibility” to help Israel in an allusion to the Holocaust.
“It’s part of our historic responsibility that we use all means under the rule of law to act against this,” he said.
Following the move, Hezbollah displays will not be allowed, including the militia group’s flag, which features an AK-47 rifle. Iran’s cozy relationship with Hezbollah, a major political force in Lebanon, is worrying to Israel, which sees the possibility of Iranian influence creeping closer to its northern border where rockets have been lobbed over from Lebanon. Hezbollah is not only a supporter of Iran but also a backer of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad.
The raids come as the German government still grapples with the coronavirus, which has infected more than 161,000 people in Germany and killed about 6,500 people.
