(Deutsche Welle) Police carried out raids across Germany on Wednesday targeting charities suspected of providing “financial and propaganda” support to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, the interior ministry said.
Around 90 properties in ten states were searched, with the focus of the raids targeting the charities WWR Help and Ansaar International in North Rhine-Westphalia.
“Whoever supports Hamas under the mantle of providing humanitarian aid disregards the fundamental values of our constitution,” Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said. “This also discredits the commitment of the many aid organizations that have committed themselves to neutrality under difficult circumstances.”
Hamas, which has armed and political wings, took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 after it defeated the PLO-affiliated Fatah party in Palestinian elections.
