The German Interior Ministry on Thursday said police had conducted raids on properties in four federal states connected to suspected Hamas and Samidoun members.
Germany, along with the US, the EU and others, has designated Hamas a terrorist organization. Samidoun describes itself as an international Palestinian prisoner solidarity group. Berlin had banned the activities of both organizations in early November.
Searches were carried out in Berlin, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein. A spokesperson for the Senate Interior Administration said that more than 300 police officers took part in the raids of 15 properties, 11 of them in Berlin.
Seven searches concerned Hamas, and four Samidoun. Germany's Interior Ministry says that there are around 450 Hamas members in the country. According to German authorities, their activities include influencing political and social discourse in Germany and financing and fundraising to strengthen the organization.
A week ago, authorities also conducted nationwide searches of 54 locations across seven federal states connected to the Islamic Center of Hamburg, suspected of supporting the militant group Hezbollah.