On November 2, 2023, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced a comprehensive ban on Hamas activities. File photo, taken on November 18, 2022. (Andre Pain/AFP via Getty Images)
[The Epoch Times, November 02, 2023](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Li Yan) Many European countries are cracking down on Hamas activities. The German Interior Minister announced on Thursday (November 2) that Hamas, which has been listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union, will be completely banned from operating in Germany starting from Wednesday, and the country’s pro-Palestinian organization Samidoun will be disbanded. Germany’s move is also aimed at curbing anti-Semitic activities promoted by these two organizations.
“Hamas is a terrorist organization that aims to destroy the State of Israel,” German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement. “Today, I have completely banned its activities.”
The statement added that Samitown’s branch in Germany would also be disbanded. Feather said the international network, under the guise of a prisoner solidarity group, spreads anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda and “supports and glorifies” groups including Hamas.
On October 7, about 3,000 terrorists infiltrated from the Gaza Strip to the Israeli border by land, sea and air, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 240 hostages of different ages under the cover of thousands of rockets fired at Israel. , among whom were at least 12 German citizens, and several others were killed in the attack.
On that day, in addition to handing out cakes on the streets of Berlin to celebrate Hamas’s attack, Samidun also published a “Calendar of Resistance for Palestine” on its website, with links to celebrations around the world. Calling on “all Palestinian, Arab and international supporters of Palestine to intensify their organization and struggle” against “colonial Zionist violence and imperialist complicity”.
Feser said her department was working “around the clock” to quickly implement a ban on Hamas activities and dismantle Samitown.
German Chancellor Scholz previously announced on October 12 that the government planned to take action against Hamas and Samidun.
In response to Scholz, Samidun issued a statement accusing the German government of taking action against it, saying the Palestinian people would not succumb to “bombing attacks” or “political repression.”
As the war between Israel and Kazakhstan continues, other EU member states are also working hard to curb Hamas’s actions within their own borders. Austria and Hungary have also enacted bans on pro-Palestinian protests, according to Human Rights Watch.
European countries attack Hamas
France has also been trying to curb pro-Hamas celebrations on Germany’s western border.
On October 12, the country’s interior minister ordered local authorities to ban all pro-Palestinian demonstrations and called for unity in the face of the tragedy. However, the ban was overturned on October 18 by France’s highest administrative court, the Conseil d’État.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called for the creation of an international coalition against Hamas to fight alongside the international coalition against the Islamic State.
Thirty-five French people were killed in the Hamas massacre, and nine others are believed to have been taken hostage.
The massacre carried out by Hamas on October 7 triggered a new round of conflicts in the Middle East. For more than two weeks, Israel has continued to bomb the Gaza Strip where Hamas is entrenched. The decision to ban the two groups is one of several measures the government has taken to curb anti-Semitic incidents amid a surge in anti-Semitic incidents in Germany.
On October 25, Feser announced that the German parliament had proposed a new law that would seek to prevent those who committed anti-Semitic acts from obtaining citizenship, and promised that those who support Hamas would be “severely punished by law.”
Among those killed by Hamas was Shani Louk, a German-Israeli citizen. She was attending a carnival near the Gaza border when Hamas launched a raid on October 7. About 260 people attending the party were killed by terrorists.
On October 7, a widely circulated video showed Luke sitting face down in the back of a pickup truck filled with armed men, parading through the Gaza Strip.
While it seems unlikely that she would still be alive when the film was shot, her family in Germany remains hopeful. It was not until October 30, when fragments of her skull were identified, that she was finally confirmed dead.
Outside the EU, Switzerland took an unprecedented stance against Hamas on October 11 and is studying the possibility of designating Hamas as a terrorist organization.
In Britain, which has designated Hamas a terrorist organization, Immigration Secretary Robert Jenrick suggested that he could introduce a policy that would see visa holders and foreigners caught spreading anti-Semitic hatred. They can be deported.
(This article refers to relevant reports from Reuters and The Times of Israel.)
Editor in charge: Lin Yan#
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2023-11-02 17:34:30
