Germany announced on Thursday a ban on all Hamas activities, as well as those of the Palestinian prisoner solidarity group Samidoun, the interior minister said.
"With Hamas, I have today completely banned the activities of a terrorist organization whose aim is to destroy the state of Israel," Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement. The European Union, of which Germany is a member, designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 2001, during the second intifada.
Faeser added that the ban would encompass Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. The group's German wing will be dissolved, according to the statement.
Although Hamas has already been designated a terrorist organization in the EU, Germany's ban establishes the legal framework in the country to fully halt its activities. The measure makes support for both Hamas and Samidoun a criminal offense, allows authorities to confiscate their assets and outlaws their internet presence, according to the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
