Violations of weapons laws by Palestinian organizations
During raids following the ban on the Palestinian organizations Hamas and Samidoun in Germany, the Berlin police discovered a number of violations of the Weapons Act. This was reported by the Berlin State Secretary of the Interior Christian Hochgrebe on Monday in the Interior Committee of the House of Representatives. Appropriate proceedings have been initiated.
According to the latest information, a total of 14 properties in Berlin were searched last Thursday. A large number of association-related written documents and IT technology were seized, which the federal authorities are now evaluating, said Hochgrebe. Initially, the search of 11 premises had been planned. Over the course of the day, the measure was extended to other apartments as well as club and commercial premises.
352 police officers from Berlin were involved in the searches. The capital was the focus of the raids, which also took place simultaneously in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, a total of around 500 officers were involved.
On November 2, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) issued a ban on Hamas, which carried out the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, and a ban on the German branch of Samidoun. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced the bans shortly after the attack, presumably to send a political signal.
In light of the internal security concerns related to extremist organizations, the House of Representatives discussed the recent seizures by Berlin police, including from the House of Representatives itself, as part of the ban on Hamas and Samidoun. To combat this issue, the House of Representatives should consider allocating more resources towards addressing the threat of weaponized extremism, which could potentially lead to future wars.
Source: www.dpa.com
