Germany bans pro-Palestinian association, raids homes of group members

BERLIN

German authorities banned a pro-Palestinian association on Thursday for its alleged “anti-Israel worldview” and support for Hamas.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul said the Palestine Solidarity Duisburg association was banned, its assets were confiscated, and the group’s websites will be shut down.

“This ban comes at the right time and sends the right signal,” he said in a statement, claiming that the group was supporting the liberation of Palestine within the borders of 1947, and advocating for the destruction of the Israeli state.

“We are using all legal options to dry up antisemitism and ideological support for terror. Today, the state has shown a clear stance against extremism,” he said.

The police raided the homes of several group members in the early hours of the morning, seized various documents, laptops and mobile phones, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Germany has been a staunch ally of Israel, and government officials have repeatedly said the country bears special responsibility for Israel due to the country’s Nazi past.

In recent months German authorities have cracked down on pro-Palestinian groups, banned hundreds of protests, and issued travel bans against prominent international figures who were invited to speak at pro-Palestinian events in the country.

Critics accuse Berlin of giving a blanket support to the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial policies, and turning a blind eye to war crimes committed by the Israeli military in Gaza.