German parliament outlaws Hezbollah activities

Asmaa Al-Batakoshi

The German parliament on Thursday passed a resolution calling on the government in Berlin to outlaw activities of the Iranian-backed, Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah.

The motion was backed by Merkel’s conservatives, their Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners and the opposition Free Democrats after nearly six months of rejecting a similar proposal by the Alternative for Germany party (AfD).

The United States has been urging Germany to ban Hezbollah altogether, dismissing claims that its political and military wing are separate entities.

The European Union considers only Hezbollah’s military arm as a terrorist organization and not its political arm.

Hezbollah operates in Germany through several organizations, through which it spreads invitations, recruits new members, in addition to collecting donations, which are eventually transferred to Beirut.

On of Hezbollah’s headquarters in Germany is the Islamic Center Imam Riza, a Shi’ite institution, is located on Reuter Street in the Berlin district of Neukölln.

Islamist Tevekkül Erol, from the Islamic Center Imam Riza, preached against Israel and spreads Hezbollah propaganda on Twitter and Facebook. Erol circulates incitement messages from the Hezbollah leaders who are celebrated as “the right fighters” against the USA, they wrote. He has also posted the Hezbollah logo that depicts an upraised arm grasping an AK-47 assault rifle.

A new German intelligence report asserts the number of Hezbollah members and supporters has climbed from 950 in 2017 to 1,050 in 2018 amid rising Jew-hatred in the federal republic.

The 192-page intelligence report authored by the intelligence agents from the state’s security service noted 150 Hezbollah operatives are situated in Lower Saxony.

Saied Sadek, a professor of political sociology at the American University, told The Reference in an interview that outlawing Hezbollah would affect the German-Lebanese relations, and therefore, relations between Germany and Iraqn.

He further pointed out that it is likely that Hezbollah would found a new organization under a different name.

Sadek also said Hezbollah had found in Germany a safe haven for money laundering, taking advantage of loopholes in the country’s anti-terrorist financing laws, but after the ban, Germany closed these holes before the terrorist group.