German police launched pre-dawn raids across the country on properties allegedly linked to Hamas and another pro-Palestinian organisation, Samidoun. Both groups are banned in the country, with Hamas listed as a terrorist organization by Berlin and the European Union.
The raids targeted 15 properties across four states - Berlin, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Schleswig-Holstein. Eleven of the raids were in the capital, according to information released by the German Interior Ministry which ordered the investigation.
A German police officer enters an apartment building during a raid against people supporting Hamas in Berlin. /Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
In an official statement Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said: "We are carrying out action against radical Islamists. By banning Hamas and Samidoun in Germany, we have sent a clear signal that we will not tolerate any apology or support for Hamas's barbaric terror against Israel."
She added: "Islamists and antisemites must not feel safe anywhere."
On November 2, the Interior Ministry took the step of banning both organisations. The Ministry says there are 450 Hamas members currently in Germany whose activities include raising money for the group and shaping Hamas's message in the country.
Reichsbuerger Return
Also on Thursday, around 280 police carried out separate raids across eight of the German Federal States targeting the far-right Reichsbuerger Movement.
Twenty homes were targeted, according to Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann, who said that officers had retrieved alarm guns, riot control agents, smartphones and data storage devices during the raids.
The raids were based on plans that prosecutors say were circulated using the Telegram messaging app. Joachim Herrmann told the press these plans "massively threatened" state institutions. No new arrests were made on Thursday.
The organizers of the Telegram channels encouraged followers to engage in "mass contacting" of authorities by phone and email. In a statement, prosecutors say this was "in order to force them to make decisions in favour of the members of the association."
Prosecutors say "the overriding aim... was to destabilise Germany and its institutions and to prevent, or at least hinder, lawful state action."
Those contacted faced death threats and were bombarded with far-right conspiracy theories. The raids on Thursday were launched as part of a further investigation into the formation of a criminal organisation.
READ MORE
Iceland prepares for volcanic eruption
China's emissions set to fall rapidly in 2024
Sweden threatens to deport law-breaking immigrants
Ten properties in southwestern Baden-Württemberg state were searched, while raids also took place in Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg, Hamburg and Lower Saxony.
It is understood that these raids are directly linked to the arrest in 2021 of a 58-year-old man identified as the operator of the Telegram accounts in question.
The Reichsbuerger Movement brings together elements of the far right with conspiracy theorists and gun rights fanatics. In 2021, the German Interior Ministry estimated there were as many as 21,000 members.
The general belief of the group is that the Federal Republic of Germany is illegitimate, and they pledge allegiance to the German Empire (Reich) instead.
Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday