Number of Hezbollah members in Germany's most populous state increases
The connection between BDS campaign targeting Israel and Hezbollah terror operatives was outlined in the report.
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL German special police leaves the El-Irschad (Al-Iraschad e.V.) centre in Berlin, Germany, April 30, 2020, after Germany has banned Iran-backed Hezbollah on its soil and designated it a terrorist organisation(photo credit: REUTERS/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE)The Jerusalem Post can reveal that the domestic intelligence agency for Germany’s most populous state North Rhine-Westphalia tracked a rise of Hezbollah members last year.According to the June report, the number of Hezbollah members increased from 110 in 2018 to 115 in 2019.The report defines loyalists to the US and German designated Hezbollah terrorist movement as “members, followers or supporters.”The intelligence document said that “a consistent stance against Hezbollah and its goals as well as the further exposure of the structures it uses is therefore a necessity for internal security in North Rhine-Westphalia.”“Hezbollah has an External Security Organization (ESO),” the report noted, adding that “due to its close ideological, political and military connection with Iran, the ESO, which acts as Hezbollah’s secret service, is also a potential threat to internal security in Germany.”The intelligence officials did not provide reasons for the increase of Hezbollah members and supporters.The connection between the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign targeting Israel and Hezbollah operatives was outlined in the report.According to the report, Hezbollah supporters from North Rhine-Westphalia participated in the 2019 al-Quds rally in Berlin calling for the destruction of the Jewish state.Germany’s government banned all Hezbollah activities this April.The intelligence report did not cite an outbreak of pro-terrorism Hezbollah rhetoric revealed by the Post last year.
A Hezbollah member from the Imam Mahdi Zentrum Shi’ite mosque in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia was seen on video reciting a poem with the lyrics, “we have pledged our allegiance to the Jurisprudent Ruler (Khamenei). We are soldiers willing to sacrifice our lives for Nasrallah [‘Victory of Allah’]. We belong to the party of Ruhollah (Khomeini). We have been accused of being terrorists – we are proud of terrorism.”The Post reported increases of Hezbollah members and supporter in states of Hamburg and Lower Saxony. The number of Hezbollah members and supporters in Lower Saxony increased from 150 in 2018 to 160 in 2019, according to a damning new intelligence report released in late May.The domestic intelligence agency for the city-state of Hamburg announced in June that there are 50 Hezbollah members in Hamburg and roughly 30 Hezbollah-affiliated associations spread across Germany.In Hamburg, the number of Hezbollah members increased from 30 in 2018 to 50 in 2019.
