“In December, Germany Made the Decision to Ban Hezbollah … The World Is a Little Bit Safer”: Richard Grenell, Israel, AfD force Germany to Ban Hezbollah

German Police raid Berlin mosque after government bans Hezbollah

After nearly a year of pressure by US ambassador Richard Grenell, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the conservative AfD party, Germany’s foreign ministry announced yesterday it is banning “activities” by Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, and raided four mosques associated with the group. The order falls short of an actual ban, conservatives criticized.

by Collin McMahon

The European Union and many member countries have sought to maintain ties with Lebanese Hezbollah (Party of God) by distinguishing between a “political” and a “military” arm of Hezbollah and banning only the latter. German cities like Berlin and Essen have become pivotal to the Hezbollah crime network, smuggling drugs and arms between Venezuela and the Mideast with the aid of Iranian “terror air” Mahan Air, which was banned from Germany last year. 1050 Hezbollah members are active in 30 mosques in Germany, recruiting and raising money, as the Hamburg and Lower Saxony secret police reported.

On June 6, 2019, the conservative AfD party filed a motion to outlaw Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and abolish the distinction between a “political” and a “military” arm of Hezbollah.  The motion was rejected by the other parties, then resubmitted in Fall and rejected once again Dec. 18. However, thanks to pressure by Israel, the AfD, US ambassador Richard Grenell and by Fox News contributor Benjamin Weinthal, the center left parties were forced to pass a watered-down version of the bill, finally passing a ban on “Hezbollah activities” Dec. 18.

Five months later, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (Christian Socialists) finally acted on the motion, ordering raids on four mosques in Berlin, Bremen, Münster and Dortmund to seize evidence that might otherwise disappear, the Interior Ministry said. The same day, the organizers of the annual anti-Israel “Al Quds March” in Berlin, which was scheduled for May 16, and is tied to Hezbollah, announced  they were canceling the event this year.

In December, Germany made the decision to ban all of Hezbollah. Today, they implemented the ban.

The world is a little bit safer. @vonderleyen @EmmanuelMacron https://t.co/p2JWWjusso

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) April 30, 2020

Visiting Berlin last year, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped Germany would follow Britain in banning Hezbollah. The UK designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in February of last year. “In December, Germany made the decision to ban all of Hezbollah. Today, they implemented the ban. The world is a little bit safer”, US Ambassador Richard Grenell, who had pushed for a Hezbollah ban in Berlin and Brussels, wrote on Twitter. “Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed terrorist organization that is responsible for attacks around the world. The EU should follow Germany’s lead and ban Hezbollah from Europe. Thank you, Richard Grenell, for your tireless effort to ensure Iran’s terror proxy is given no quarter”, AIPAC wrote.

Great to see #Germany’s action banning Hizballah in its entirety. Other European countries and the #EU should follow the examples of Germany and the #UK in support the people of #Lebanon, as they reject #Hizballah. @RichardGrenell https://t.co/IJ3zEG6If7

— NSC (@WHNSC) April 30, 2020

AfD Vice-Chair in the Bundestag Beatrix von Storch told Gateway Pundit: “A year ago, on June 6, 2019, I filed a motion on behalf of the AfD to outlaw Hezbollah and eliminate the absurd distinction between a “political” and a “military” arm of Hezbollah. Germany has become one of the most important hotspots for Hezbollah’s arms and drug smuggling. My motion was rejected by all other parties, first in June and then again in December. However, pressure from Israel, the AfD, the USA and our friends in the local Jewish community forced the other parties to at least ban “Hezbollah activities” in a watered-down bill, while falling short of actually banning membership in the terrorist group. We welcome the fact Interior Secretary Seehofer is finally doing his job and outlawing terrorism.”

AfD Foreign Policy spokesman Petr Bystron told Gateway Pundit: “The German government loves to point fingers at others and call them anti-Semites, while giving Hamas and Hezbollah free rein. Islamic activists routinely call for the destruction of Israel at the annual Al Quds march in Berlin, spokesmen of terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah are given visas to come speak in Hamburg and berlin, German party foundations support groups that call for BDS boycotts of Israel, taxpayer money goes to support the Hezbollah government in Lebanon, and the Islamic regime in Tehran subverts local academia and media with their sleeper agents. It is time for the German government to join our allies in the USA and Israel and take a firm stance against Islamic terror.”

European appeasement of Iranian-funded terror groups may be due to behind-the-scenes deals between Euro governments and the terrorists, writes Benjamin Weinthal in the Jerusalem Post: “A veteran German journalist, who has written extensively about Iranian regime-sponsored terrorism and intelligence agencies in the federal republic, told me Germany cut a deal with Hezbollah after the organization’s 1992 terrorism attack in a West Berlin restaurant. A joint Hezbollah-Iran operation assassinated three Iranian-Kurdish leaders and their translator in the Greek restaurant Mykonos. The quid pro quo, according to the journalist, was: Hezbollah and Iran discontinued terrorism operations on German soil in exchange for permission to fundraise, build structures, recruit new members, and spread their deadly ideologies.”

In 2019, Weinthal revealed Hezbollah maintained one of its major overseas bank accounts in the German city of Bremen, in the Municipal Bank of all places. Bremen secret police reported: “The Al-Mustafa-Community Center supports Hezbollah in Lebanon, especially by collecting donations.” A Hezbollah member speaking in a Hezbollah-controlled mosque in the German city of Münster said:  “We belong to the party of Ruhollah (Khomeini]) We have been accused of being terrorists – we are proud of terrorism.”

Israeli YouTuber Avi Abelow interviewed AfD MEP Joachim Kuhs of the “Christians in the AfD”:

Video: Germany: Police raid Berlin mosque association after govt bans Hezbollah

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