German minister announces complete ban on Hamas activities

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany will from Thursday ban the activities of Hamas, already a designated terrorist organisation in the country, as well as pro-Palestinian group Samidoun, the interior minister announced on Thursday.

“With Hamas, I have today completely banned the activities of a terrorist organisation whose aim is to destroy the state of Israel,” Nancy Faeser said in a statement.

Samidoun’s German wing will also be disbanded, it added. Faeser said the international network works under the guise of a solidarity group for prisoners to spread anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda.

(This story has been corrected to change the day to Thursday, from Wednesday, in paragraph 1)

(Writing by Rachel More; editing by Matthias Williams)

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