Germany launches nationwide raids against Hezbollah-linked properties

Germany has begun raiding properties linked to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group across the country as Berlin tries to address the rise of antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war. The raids targeting 54 sites came after Germany banned Hamas activities and related organisations, in the wake of the deadly October 7 attack carried out by the Islamist group in Israel. “We have the Islamist scene in our sights,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. “At a time when numerous Jews feel particularly threatened” Germany will “not tolerate neither Islamist propaganda nor anti-Semitist incitement hostile to Israel,” she added. Germany’s operation on Thursday targeted the Hamburg Islamic Centre and five of its affiliated groups. The police are also conducting searches in six of Germany’s 16 states including Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Hesse, Berlin, Baden-Wuerttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia. The Hamburg Islamic Centre runs the Imam Ali Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, and calls have been growing in recent years for authorities to close it down because of its alleged links to Iran. Founded by Iranian immigrants in 1953, the Hamburg Islamic Centre had already been under surveillance by domestic intelligence for some time. The interior ministry believes its activities are “aimed at spreading the revolutionary concept of (Iran’s) supreme leaders, something that is suspected to violate Germany’s constitutional order”. However, the police have not made any arrests during the raids yet. Hamburg’s Interior Minister Andy Grote welcomed the operation saying that he believes that the centre “will be closed in the near future”. Germany, like other Western powers, is working to prevent Israel’s war on Hamas from turning into a wider conflict, including the involvement of Lebanon-based Hezbollah. With inputs from AFP