Hamas has been considered a terrorist organization in Germany since 2004. Only now is the federal government tightening its stance against supporters.
The unprecedented Hamas massacre in Israel with at least 1,300 deaths is also forcing the federal government to take action. In his government statement on Thursday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced a so-called ban on the activities of the Palestinian terrorist group in Germany. The Samidoun supporters’ association should also be banned. But the Chancellor’s statement raises the question: Why is the activity ban only coming now?
In Germany, the Federal Administrative Court declared Hamas a terrorist organization in 2004. Hamas is also rightly on the EU’s terror list, as the European Court of Justice finally determined in 2021. Hamas fundraising associations such as “Al Aqsa eV” have long been banned in Germany.
However, Hamas itself is not a domestic association, so a ban on the organization does not apply in this case. The situation was similar with the terrorist militia “Islamic State,” which the then Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) banned from operating in 2014.
Ban on activity further restricts Hamas supporters
However, Hamas supporters in Germany have not yet been able to act undisturbed. Showing the Hamas flag is already illegal and can be punished with up to three years in prison. Since Hamas is on the EU terror list, monetary donations to the organization are also punishable.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution counts around 450 people in Hamas’ inner circle of supporters in Germany: “Western states like Germany are viewed by Hamas as a retreat area in which the organization concentrates on collecting donations, recruiting new followers and spreading its propaganda,” says the 2022 Constitutional Protection Report.
The ban on activity that has now been announced is intended to further restrict the scope of action of Hamas supporters and is close in effect to a ban on organizing. In the future, anyone who takes part in meetings in the name of Hamas or spreads propaganda in the spirit of the organization will also be liable to prosecution. With a ban on activities, the German state also has the opportunity to confiscate Hamas assets or donations collected in Germany.
According to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, a ban on activity also gives the authorities more legal certainty, for example when banning demonstrations by Hamas supporters, as has been the case in several German cities since the weekend.
Samidoun association sparks outrage
Members of the Samidoun Association sparked outrage when they distributed sweet pastries in Berlin-Neukölln to celebrate Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel. It is unclear when the club’s ban will come into effect. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Samidoun belongs to the radical Palestinian organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The group propagates the armed struggle against Israel, but unlike Hamas, is not religious. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the PFLP “has not made a significant appearance” in Germany. The federal government has not commented on a possible ban on activities for the PFLP.
In principle, associations can be banned in Germany “whose purposes or whose activities run counter to criminal law or which are directed against the constitutional order or against the idea of international understanding.” However, the hurdles for a ban are high because freedom of association has a high priority in the Basic Law.
