The German Federal Ministry of the Interior conducted raids on 16 properties that belonged to members and supporters of Hamas and Samidoun on Thursday. The extensive search resulted in the seizure of mobile phones, laptops, data carriers and documents. The federal authorities are evaluating the seized materials with the help of Islamic scholars.

With the approval granted by German administrative courts, the raid served to enforce the ban implemented earlier this month. The ban forbids any activities associated with Hamas and Samidoun – the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network in Germany. Consequently, the sub-organisation Samidoun Germany was also disbanded. The German government emphasised that the activities of Hamas contravened the Basic Law. Article 9 Paragraph 2 prohibits activities that contravene criminal laws or are directed against the concept of international understanding. Hamas’s activities fell outside their right to free association.

The German Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser added, “We are continuing our consistent action against radical Islamists. With the bans on Hamas and Samidoun in Germany, we have sent a clear signal that we will not tolerate any glorification or support of the barbaric terror of HAMAS against Israel.”

In response, Samidoun denounced the raids and accused the German government of terrorising Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities in Germany. Samidoun emphasised that the German government should not have increased its military support to Israel tenfold in just the past two months and suppressed the Palestinian community and supporters of Palestine unprecedentedly. Instead, the German government should have invoked the Genocide Convention to protect Palestinians and sanctioned Israel.