The German Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, spoke out this Friday in favor of the deportation of Hamas supporters in Germany even though the organization is not banned in this country.
“If we can deport Hamas followers, we should do it,” Faeser told reporters after meeting officials from the Federal Criminal Police Office in the city of Wiesbaden. Intelligence services estimate that Hamas has about 450 followers in the country, many of whom are German nationals.
Unlike other countries, which have classified Hamas as a terrorist organization, the group is not banned in Germany since it does not have an operational structure, but it could be prohibited from operating and that is what the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is currently considering. .
Scholz announced last week the ban on the activities of Hamas and Samidoun, a group that defends the rights of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The Greens and the FDP liberals, partners in the government coalition, have also requested the closure of institutions such as the ‘Islamic Center of Hamburg’ (IZH). According to the Hamburg State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Iran controls the IZH, which is why the agency classifies the center as extremist. The intelligence agency has been watching the organisation, which runs the Blue Mosque in the Alster, for years.
Germany has reinforced the wall against anti-Semitic demonstrations and violence since the Hamas incursion into Israel and the Federal Criminal Police Office is preparing for a possible tightening of the security situation in Germany. “At the moment we have no indications of a concrete imminent attack,” said BKA vice-president Jürgen Peter at the press conference with Faeser. “But: if the conflict continues to intensify, for example due to the Israeli ground offensive, we can expect a new increase in emotionalization and mobilization in Germany.”
Since last October 7, 211 pro-Israeli and 129 pro-Palestinian protests have been held in Germany, while another 46 related to this last trend were prohibited with the justification that crimes could be committed in them.
In his assessment, Faeser also mentioned that according to police data, approximately 1,100 criminal acts related to the situation in Gaza have been recorded in Germany.
“In Germany it is possible to demonstrate, but there is a clear red line. Anti-Semitic or anti-Israeli agitation is not tolerated and violence is not tolerated,” declared Faeser. The minister therefore expressed her support for the bans, decreed in each case by the local authorities, and which have been the subject of criticism, among others, from the German branch of Amnesty International (AI).
In Berlin alone the Police have made “hundreds” of arrests, given that a hundred officers have been injured by the throwing of bottles and fireworks in the incidents that have occurred in the German capital in recent nights. Given this situation, Faeser said, “harsh and immediate” criminal consequences are necessary that send “a clear stop signal.” The minister stressed, however, that the majority of Muslims residing in Germany do not support Hamas, although not all organizations that bring together followers of Islam have expressed their condemnation of this terrorist group for its actions.
