Vice-president of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, Oqab Yahya, welcomed Germany’s decision to designate the Lebanese Hezbollah a terrorist organization and ban its activities on German soil.
Yahya emphasized that the Hezbollah Militia has been a partner with the Assad regime in the killing of the Syrian people for nine years, adding that the militia is one of Iran’s arms to destabilize the region.
He urged the rest of the countries to follow suit so as to undermine the role of this sectarian terrorist group and dry up its sources of funding, which depends mainly on drug trafficking and other illegal activities.
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on Thursday banned all Hezbollah activities in the country, his ministry spokesman said on Twitter. He also confirmed that “police measures are underway in several federal states concurrently,” and added that even in times of crisis, the “rule of law is able to act.”
German police said that a number of properties in Berlin, Bremen and North Rhine-Westphalia were searched early on Thursday. According to the police and the German Interior Ministry, four mosques and cultural associations were raided, as well as private homes of their board members, treasurers and tax advisers.
The German decision comes a few months after a similar decision by the British government, which banned the Hezbollah Militia from carrying out any social, financial or banking activities on British soil. The British decision also included asset-freeze of the group’s supporters and loyalists in the British banks. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)