Hamas and Hezbollah Activities in Europe: Germany as a Test Case

Overview^[1]

• In November 2024, charges filed in Germany against four suspects affiliated with Hamas for operating weapons depots for Hamas in Europe and planning attacks on Israeli, Jewish and Western targets in Germany.
• In July 2024, the German ministry of the interior ordered the closure of the Islamic Center in Hamburg after evidence was found that for years it had served the interests of Iran and Hezbollah in the country.
• Both cases provide evidence of the continued presence of Hamas and Hezbollah in Europe in general and Germany in particular, despite efforts by authorities to limit or prevent their activities, especially following the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre in Israel.
• Germany, like other European countries, has always walked a fine line between counterterrorism, its commitment to absorbing immigrants and the protection of human rights. That was why for years if did not designate Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations or outlaw outlawing them, allowing their organizations and charities to raise funds for terrorist activities which also targeted German.
• In 2020, Germany ended the EU’s arbitrary separation between Hezbollah’s military wing and its so-called political wing, and designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization. A similar move against Hamas was taken only in November 2023, although the movement as a whole had been designated a terrorist organization by the EU since 2014.
• An October 2024 report issued by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) warned that in addition to actions by individuals motivated by antisemitism, the escalation in the Middle East also posed a threat to Jewish and Israeli targets because of operational preparations by Iranian or Hezbollah proxies or by Hamas.
• In ITIC assessment, German law enforcement authorities will continue efforts to prevent Hamas and Hezbollah activities as part of a growing European effort to reduce the risk from Iranian proxies. However, the threat posed by Hamas and Hezbollah can be expected to remain high for Europe in general and for Germany in particular. The arrest of Hamas operatives and the exposure of weapons depots may indicate a change in the movement’s activities in Europe, which until now avoided carrying out attacks abroad and focused on fundraising and promoting its agenda within civilian social organizations. Hezbollah may also activate its network, which in all probability still exists in Germany, to attack Israeli and Jewish targets, either as revenge for the killing of Hassan Nasrallah and senior organization members or as part of a possible Iranian response to the Israeli strike on Iran in October 2024. Hamas and Hezbollah may also exploit the radicalization of Muslim immigrant communities in Europe, as demonstrated by the attack on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam in November 2024, to construct a support base which would help them spread their anti-Israeli and antisemitic agenda and even carry out attacks.^[2]

Hamas Activity in Germany

• Germany has been a focal point for Hamas activity in Europe. Over the years, as it has in other European countries, Hamas has focused on fundraising and spreading its ideology beyond the borders of “Palestine.” That has been done primarily through civilian organizations which maintain a low profile and conceal their connection to the movement. Some of these organizations were managed by Hamas activists and supporters instructed by “external” Hamas operatives and maintained regular contact with senior figures in the movement (Die Welt, May 25, 2024).
• According to reports, in December 2023 German security services identified Majed Khalil Mosa al-Zeer as “Hamas’ representative in Germany.” Al-Zeer, a British citizen who moved to Germany in 2014, previously headed the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC), a Palestinian propaganda organization based in Britain considered a central wing of Hamas in Europe.^[3] He heads the European Palestinian Council for Political Relations (EUPAC), which promotes the “Palestinian cause” in Europe, including through connections with political entities and civilian organizations.^[4] Al-Zeer, previously photographed with the late Isma’il Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau, claimed the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre were “self-defense;” German law enforcement authorities searched his home following the attack (Der Spiegel, December 15, 2023; Die Welt, June 22, 2024). On June 30, 2023, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signed administrative orders to seize funds secretly transferred by Hamas to five senior operatives working in Europe, including al-Zeer (Israeli media, June 30, 2023).^[5] On October 7, 2024, the United States Treasury Department added al-Zeer to its sanctions list of designated terrorist operatives, noting that he was Hamas’ senior representative in Germany and played a central role in Hamas’ fundraising activities in Europe (United States Treasury Department, October 7, 2024).

Raising funds for Hamas

• The central branch of the al-Aqsa Foundation was a key factor in Hamas’ fundraising network in Western countries until the German ministry of the interior banned its activities in August 2002. Documents seized in Judea and Samaria showed that the al-Aqsa Foundation in Germany, as well as in other European countries, contributed to building Hamas. An investigation of Abd al-Hakim Muhammad Abd al-Fattah Abd al-Rahman, a Hamas operative from Bir Nabala, carried out in 1993, revealed that when he traveled to study in Germany and expressed his desire to join Hamas, he was referred by Sheikh Jamil Abd al-Rahim Hamami, a senior Hamas operative in the Jerusalem area, to Mahmoud Amro, head of the al-Aqsa Foundation in Germany, whom he identified as the Hamas leader in Germany.^[6]
• Despite the closure of the al-Aqsa Foundation, Hamas fundraising organizations and associations continued their operations in Germany on the pretense of being “charitable foundations.” One of the largest associations was the Palestinian Community in Germany (PGD), which ceased operations at the end of November 2023. The association sponsored demonstrations and conferences for “Palestine,” and German security services called its annual events “Hamas’ most important propaganda events in Europe” (t-online, October 13, 2023).
• There were concerns in Germany that some of the EU financial aid sent to the Gaza Strip, as well as donations from various organizations, including groups managed without transparency, found their way to terrorist organizations and were used for their military buildup. An investigation by the ARD network revealed that over the years, Hamas had exploited its connections with international aid organizations operating in Gaza and used their funds and imported materials to finance its military buildup and terrorist activities. As a result aid sent by Germany for Gaza’s civilian population ultimately ended up supporting Hamas’ military wing, strengthening its terrorist infrastructure. It was further revealed that in building its rocket and tunnel systems in Gaza, Hamas used expertise and logistics provided by specialists for aid and development programs in the area funded by Germany, utilizing materials such as pipes, steel and cement for both civilian and terrorist purposes (ARD, April 24, 2024).
• A review conducted by an information center several years ago found that Hamas operatives used the Rudolf Walther School complex in Deir al-Balah (central Gaza Strip), which was built with German donations, to promote hatred toward Israel and provide military training to students as preparation for their future recruitment into Hamas’ military wing (Rudolf Walther Boys’ Elementary School Facebook page, March 31, 2016).^[7]

     
Right: The school (YouTube, March 30, 2016). Left: Military training given at the Rudolf Walther School in Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip. It is part of the al-Futuwwa program to train Gazan youth as the next generation of Hamas terrorist operatives (school Facebook page, March 2016)

German activities against Hamas

• The EU initially put the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, on its first list of terrorist organizations and operatives, which was drafted in December 2001 following the September 11 attacks in the United States. Two years later, the entire Hamas movement was put on the list. Hamas appealed the decision and in 2014 a court annulled the designation, arguing it was based on information “collected from the media and the Internet.” However, the European Court of Justice reversed the decision, returning Hamas to the list of terrorist organizations in 2017. Appeals by Hamas against the designation and asset freezes were rejected in 2017 and 2021 (Times of Israel, July 26, 2017; DW News, December 14, 2018; Courthouse News Service, November 23, 2021).^[8]
• Although EU directives were applicable in Germany, the October 7, 2023 attack provided an opportunity for federal authorities to intensify their measures against Hamas. On October 13, 2023, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a ban on Hamas activities in Germany and on the German branch of Samidoun,^[9] an organization whose members distributed candy and pastries to the public after the attack. Scholz emphasized that anyone supporting terrorist organizations like Hamas was committing a criminal offense (DW News, November 2, 2023).
• On November 2, 2023, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser designated Hamas a terrorist organization and ordered the dismantling of Samidoun. The decision meant a ban on activities related to both organizations, prohibition of gatherings and a ban on the public display of symbols associated with Hamas, including the movement’s flags across all its wings and units, as well as headbands bearing inscriptions like “al-Qassam Brigades” or “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.” The slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” was also prohibited; it had gained popularity in pro-Palestinian demonstrations around the glove since the start of the war (German government website, November 2, 2023). Immediately following the interior minister’s announcement, Germany’s federal police raided 15 sites suspected having connections with Hamas and Samidoun in several German states (Bild, November 23, 2023).

• Osama Hamdan, a Hamas figure who lives in Lebanon, responded by claiming that Germany’s ban proved the country was collaborating with “Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people.” He added that the decision made them ask if the political climate in Germany was one of “holocaust” towards all nations and not limited to one side or another (Haaretz, November 2, 2023). A report by the interior ministry of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from April 2024 noted that several associations of Hamas supporters operating in Germany had disbanded, presumably due to searches conducted by authorities following the ban on Hamas activities. The report stated that the dissolution of the associations represented a significant defeat for Hamas supporters, who lost their primary tools for networking and propaganda dissemination. According to the report, a short-term alternative concerning fundraising, organization and propaganda was unlikely to be established (North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Ministry website, April 2024).

Hamas terrorist cell exposed

• On December 14, 2023, three suspects, two Lebanese and one Egyptian, were arrested in Germany. A fourth suspect, a Dutch citizen, was arrested in Rotterdam and extradited to Germany. According to reports, the investigation began after an alert from Israel, and investigators identified the four as being in contact with Abu Khaled, a senior operative of Hamas’ military wing in Lebanon who was killed in an Israeli operation in March 2024. The suspects were gathering information in preparation for attacking Jewish targets. The report noted that the arrests surprised German authorities, as Hamas had previously been considered a movement focused on “liberating Palestine” through political activities and fundraising, with no interest in planning or carrying out attacks from European countries (Die Welt, May 25, 2024). Senior Hamas figure Sami Abu Zuhri denied the claims, claiming that the accusations had been published to influence pro-Palestinian demonstrations taking place in Europe (Reuters, December 14, 2023).
• According to the charges filed against the four on November 8, 2024, they had worked for Hamas abroad for years, held senior positions within the movement and had direct connections with senior operatives in Hamas’ military wing. According to the prosecution, they operated underground Hamas weapons depots across Europe for carrying out attacks, with targets including the Israeli embassy in Berlin, the United States Air Force base in Ramstein and an area near Tempelhof Airport in Berlin. According to the charges, one of the defendants established a weapons depot in Bulgaria in the spring of 2019 and inspected it again in August 2023, and between June and December 2023, the four attempted to locate a site for a weapons depot in Poland (Federal Prosecution website, November 25, 2024).

Hezbollah Activity in Germany

• Like Hamas, Hezbollah operatives enjoyed relative freedom of action in Germany for years, which they exploited for the following purposes:
  • Crime: As part of the organization’s international network for funding the organization’s criminal activities, Hezbollah operatives used Germany as a focal point for its global illegal trade network, involving drug trafficking, money laundering and trafficking in stolen vehicles.
  • “Cultural” and propaganda activities: Directed by Iran, their activities were primarily aimed at Germany’s Shi’ite immigrant community. Hezbollah operated a network of cultural and welfare centers in Germany (and other European countries) to strengthen the organization’s image among Shi’ite Muslims and to raise funds for the organization in Lebanon. Iran and Hezbollah also exploit Shi’ite Islamic associations across Europe to fuel their terrorist activities.
  • Recruiting: Hezbollah operatives used Germany as a base for recruiting activists and supporters, for espionage and for acquiring weapons. For example, in 2008, the Israeli Security Agency (the Shabak) revealed that Hezbollah operatives exploited the presence of Israeli Arabs who were living abroad mainly for educational purposes, making contact with them and attempting to recruit them to the organization. They operated civilian bodies affiliated with or linked to the organization, such as associations and charities.^[10]

German activities against Hezbollah

• Although for years it had accumulated evidence of Hezbollah’s terrorist nature, Germany followed the policy of the EU Foreign Ministers Council, which made an artificial distinction between Hezbollah’s military wing, outlawed in July 2013, and its so-called “political” wing, which was not banned because of the claim that it was part of the Lebanese government. ^[11]
• For years, German authorities’ actions against Hezbollah operatives and affiliated organizations were isolated and limited. For example, on January 4, 2005, a Düsseldorf court upheld the security authorities’ decision to deport a Hezbollah operative who had lived in the country for several years. The court ruled that Hezbollah’s support for terrorism was sufficient grounds for deportation, noting there was solid evidence of Hezbollah’s involvement in terrorism and that the organization led the fight against Israel “with brutal disregard for human life.”^[12]
• In 2008, Germany’s ministry of the interior announced a ban on broadcasts of al-Manar, Hezbollah’s television channel, in Germany. That meant that German satellite providers could not offer the channel as part of their packages (Yahoo, November 21, 2008). The broadcast ban was based on Article 9 of the German Constitution, which prohibits organizations from operating with the intent of violating “international understandings” (AP, November 21, 2008).
• Despite long-standing pressure on the German government, efforts to outlaw Hezbollah began only in 2019 when a group of lawmakers urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to take a firmer stance against the organization by designating its political wing as a terrorist organization. Such a designation ensured Hezbollah could not operate on German soil and would be prevented from raising funds and spreading propaganda in Germany (New York Times, April 30, 2020). On April 30, 2020, the German government officially designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and banned its activities. Following the decision, the use of Hezbollah symbols was prohibited in Germany, and all the organization’s assets in Germany were confiscated. In the wake of the declaration, German police raided several religious centers and mosques linked to Hezbollah in Berlin, Dortmund, Bremen and Münster (German Federal ministry of the Interior website, April 30, 2020). ^[13]
• Hezbollah condemned the decision. Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general at the time, claimed it was a political decision to appease Israel and the United States. He also criticized German authorities for raiding mosques and homes where Lebanese residents lived under the pretext that they supported Hezbollah. According to Nasrallah, Germany had not presented any evidence linking Hezbollah to terrorist activity on its soil. He further [falsely] claimed that Hezbollah had not had branches in any European or other countries for many years (al-Nashra, al-Manar, May 4, 2020).
• According to reports, Germany’s move dealt Hezbollah a strong economic blow. According to Western security officials, Germany was a focal point for financial transfers to Hezbollah, stating that funds raised by activists in Europe for Hezbollah were transferred to Germany and from there to legitimate bank accounts in Beirut. The United States reported that Hezbollah supporters who moved from Africa to Germany facilitated the transfer of money from individuals assisting the organization to Berlin and then to Beirut. The funds were transferred to Hezbollah in the form of cash and bank transfers, and by currency exchange offices (Lebanon Debate, May 3, 2020).
• A Saudi Arabian journalist with a daily column in the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat, wrote that Germany’s decision to outlaw Hezbollah had come late, as it had long been aware of the organization’s activities and those of its patron Iran inside its territory and across Europe, activities which included assassinations, manufacturing explosives, drug trafficking and money laundering (al-Sharq al-Awsat, May 2, 2020).
• In May 2021, Germany’s ministry of the interior announced that three associations had been banned. They were The Lebanese-German Family, People for People and Allah, Bring Us Peace, which replaced the charity Lebanon Orphans Project, a “charity” outlawed in 2014 because of its extensive financial support of Hezbollah’s Shaheed Foundation. The associations were banned based on evidence of fundraising activities for Hezbollah (German Federal ministry of the interior website, May 2021).
• In May 2023, two Hezbollah operatives were arrested in the city of Bremen. They were operating under a local association named al-Mustafa, which was banned in Germany in 2022. According to reports, the two were recruited to Hezbollah in Lebanon and organized lectures by preachers to expand ideological support and establish a youth group within the association. It was also reported that the association’s chairman, Abd al-Latif, was part of Hezbollah’s elite al-Radwan Force (Eran Lahav, “A Hidden Community: On Hezbollah’s Activities in Germany,”^[14] October 3, 2023).
• However, being banned did not stop Hezbollah from operating in Germany, as can be seen in official reports by security and law enforcement authorities:
  • A report published by German intelligence in 2022 stated that Hezbollah “advocates the implementation of Islamic Sharia law” and directed its “propaganda against Western institutions” to promote its goals (Eran Lahav, “A Hidden Community,” October 3, 2023).
  • According to a report by the ministry of the interior of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia from April 2024, Hezbollah supporters in Germany were members of associations managing local mosques. While publicly their activities did not explicitly reference Hezbollah, the report identified several associations with ties to Hezbollah, including the Lebanese Migrant Community in Dortmund (Ahl al-Bayt Center) and the Lebanese Migrant Community in Bottrop (Imam Reza Center) (North Rhine-Westphalia ministry of the interior website, April 2024).

Purchasing parts for Hezbollah UAVs

• On July 15, 2024, German law enforcement authorities arrested a Lebanese citizen on suspicion of procuring parts for UAVs for Hezbollah. At the same time, three suspects were arrested in Spain. According to the prosecution, the detainee in Germany, Fadel Z., joined Hezbollah in 2016. He and the other three, under the guise of owning a toy company, purchased electronic components, propellers, dozens of gasoline engines, more than 200 electric motors and more than 12 tons of additional components essential for constructing UAV fuel tanks, wings and propulsion systems. In the assessment of German law enforcement authorities, the components enabled Hezbollah to build more than a thousand UAVs, some of which were used in attacks against Israel after October 7, 2023 (El País, July 18, 2024; Der Spiegel, July 15, 2024).
• On August 25, 2024, a Hezbollah UAV struck Kibbutz Dan in northern Israel. Documentation of the UAV’s remains identified the engine as having been manufactured by 3W Company in Germany. A report by a research institute examining armaments in armed conflicts (CAR) from February 2020 found that engines from 3W Company were also installed in UAVs used by the Houthis in Yemen (i24News, August 27, 2024).

Germany closes the Hamburg Islamic Center

• One of the sites most closely affiliated with Iranian and Hezbollah activities in Germany was the Blue Mosque in Hamburg, the oldest Muslim place of worship in Germany, where the Islamic Center Hamburg (Islamisches Zentrum Hamburg – IZH) operated. The mosque and the Shi’ite-Islamic association had been under surveillance by authorities since 1993. The former deputy head of the center, Suleiman Musabifar, was deported from Germany with his family in June 2022 because of his support for radical Shi’ite groups and organizations, including Hezbollah. According to Philipp Woldin, editor-in-chief of Die Welt Hamburg, wrote in 2021 that the Hamburg center was “the most important propaganda center for Iran in Europe” and sent buses filled with pro-Iranian and pro-Hezbollah activists to Berlin to participate in the annual World Jerusalem Day rallies (Eran Lahav, “A Hidden Community,” October 3, 2023).
• On November 16, 2023, German law enforcement authorities raided more than 50 sites belonging to the center in seven federal states in Germany, collecting materials and evidence as part of an investigation into suspected support for Hezbollah activities (DW, November 16, 2023).
• On July 24, 2024, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser ordered the closure of the center and its outlawing. Following the decision, German security forces raided the Blue Mosque and 53 other properties and assets belonging to the Islamic Center across Germany, including buildings and mosques in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin. Faeser stated that the Islamic Center was a direct branch of the Iranian regime, promoting extremist Islamic ideology and spreading aggressive antisemitism. She added that evidence found in the November 2023 raid revealed the center’s connections with Hezbollah, leading to the decision to cease its activities (DW, July 24, 2024). In response to Germany’s decision, Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the German ambassador in Tehran for a meeting (Reuters, July 24, 2024).

• After the raid, Der Spiegel printed on a document from Germany’s ministry of the interior detailing close ties between the Islamic Center and the Iranian regime and Hezbollah, revealing the following (Der Spiegel, August 11, 2024):
  • Hundreds of WhatsApp messages showed that the head of the center, Mohammad Hadi Moftah, had direct contact with Mehdi Mostafavi, the deputy head of the international affairs office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Investigators discovered more than 650 messages which the two had exchanged between late 2021 and late 2023, in which the Iranian official provided detailed instructions to Moftah. Following the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre, Moftah received the narrative stating that “the Islamic resistance [Hamas] had no other way of stopping Israel’s crimes [sic].”
  • Mobile phones belonging to Moftah and other center employees contained the phone number of a senior Hezbollah figure responsible for the organization’s foreign relations. That person had visited Germany several times, including the Hamburg center, where he participated in meetings and expressed appreciation to the former center leader for “economic, spiritual and advisory support.”
  • Representatives from Hezbollah and the Islamic Center allegedly discussed a construction project by the Waqf in Lower Saxony, reportedly linked to the center. According to the report, Hezbollah’s foreign relations department was involved in the planning, and project implementation reports were sent directly to the late Hassan Nasrallah. Some employees of the association were investigated on suspicion of Hezbollah membership.
  • Documents were found indicating fundraising activities for Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen. Some documents bore the seal of Iran’s supreme leader and included specific financial transfers for operations in Yemen.

1. Click https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en to subscribe and receive the ITIC's daily updates as well as its other publications.

2. For further information, see the November 2024 ITIC report, "Antisemitism in the Arab-Muslim World during the Gaza Strip War."

3. For further information, see the March 2011 ITIC report, https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/19097/

4. For further information, see the March 2024 ITIC report, "Support for Hamas in Belgium and the Netherlands since the Outbreak of the Swords of Iron War."

5. For further information, see the June 2015 ITIC report, "Hamas’s media reported that Hamas’s senior figure Ismail Haniya congratulated Majed al-Zeer, the general director of the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC), on receiving a non-governmental observer status in the UN Committee on NGOs."

6. For further information, see the December 2004 ITIC report, https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/20985/ ↑

7. For further information, see the April 2016 ITIC report, "Inculcating Hatred and Violence for Israel in the Palestinian Educational System: The Rudolf Walther School in Deir al-Balah, as a Case Study."

8. For further information, see the December 2023 ITIC report, "International activity against Hamas since the outbreak of Operation Iron Swords."

9. Samidoun, established in 2012, is a non-governmental organization affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The organization represents itself as supporting the release of Palestinian prisoners. It operates in Europe, Lebanon, Canada and the United States, organizes protests against Israel and is part of the BDS movement.

10. For further information, see the August 2008 ITIC report, "The Israeli security forces recently detained an Israeli Arab studying medicine in Germany, suspected of having been recruited by Hezbollah and of receiving large sums of money."

11. Despite the European argument for distinguishing between Hezbollah's military and political wings, in practice, the distinction does not bear close scrutiny, since in effect they are one and the same. Hassan Nasrallah, the previous Hezbollah secretary general, who was killed in an Israeli operation in September 2024, led both wings. Hashem Safi al-Din, head of the Executive Council and his designated successor, who was eliminated in October 2024, was also involved in both wings.

12. For further information, see the January 2005 ITIC report, https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/germany-outlaws-hezbollah-joining-countries-designated-terrorist-organization/

13. For further information, see the May 2020 ITIC report, "Germany outlaws Hezbollah, joining other countries which designated it as a terrorist organization."

14. Article, Hebrew only.

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