German police raids Islamic organisations over suspected support for Hamas

German police has raided offices belonging to Islamic organisations suspected of funding the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the interior ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry mainly targeted WorldWide Resistance-Help and Ansaar International groups for having collected funds for Hamas, reportedly under the guise of humanitarian aid.

Both organisations say on their websites that they collect donations for people in Gaza, Somalia, Syria and other countries.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer reiterated that “whoever supports Hamas under the guise of humanitarian aid disregards fundamental values of our constitution and discredits the commitment of many aid organisations.”

In addition to funding, the ministry said the two organisations also supported Hamas, which is on the European Union’s terrorism blacklist, through propaganda campaigns.

In December, a top EU court turned down an appeal Hamas against its listing by the bloc as a terrorist organisation.

Hamas, the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip, aimed to end a freeze on assets held in the European Union that was imposed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.

The Palestinian political group originally had a dual purpose of carrying out an armed struggle against Israel as well as delivering social welfare programmes.

It has also engaged in the Palestinian political process since 2005, becoming the first Islamist group in the Arab world to win election through the ballot box.

Following this victory, Hamas kept a tight grip on Gaza after ousting its Fatah rivals.

In a surprising move, the group published in May 2017 a new policy document for the first time since its founding in 1987, in which it expressed its willingness to accept an interim Palestinian state within pre-1967 boundaries, but without recognising Israel.

In 2006, Hamas won an extraordinary victory in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections, but tensions with the archrival Fatah faction of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas intensified.

In June 2007, deadly clashes between Hamas and Fatah erupted in Gaza, after which Hamas set up a rival government, leaving Fatah and the PA running parts of the West Bank.

More than 2 million Palestinians live in the narrow coastal enclave Gaza under difficult economic conditions, in large part, due to Israel’s decade-long blockade as well as budget cuts by the rival Palestinian Authority and a reduction in international aid to the Palestinians, particularly from the United States.

Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintains firm control of its land and sea borders, with Egypt also restricting movement in and out of Gaza on its border.

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