Germany on Thursday completely banned Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah from carrying out activities on its soil, as police raided mosques and venues allegedly linked to the group.

Like the European Union, Germany had until now only outlawed Hezbollah’s military wing while tolerating its political wing.

But in a move immediately welcomed by the United States and the Zionist entity, the German interior ministry said it now considered the entire movement a “Shiite terrorist organization”.

“Hezbollah is a terrorist organization deemed responsible for numerous attacks and kidnappings worldwide,” Interior Minister Horst Seehofer claimed in an interview with Germany’s Bild daily.

The interior minister “has banned the operation of the group” in Germany with immediate effect, his spokesman tweeted.

“Even in times of crisis the rule of law is upheld,” he wrote.

Raids were taking place in several places across the country, he added.

Dozens of police and special forces stormed mosques and associations allegedly linked to Hezbollah in Bremen, Berlin, Dortmund and Muenster in the early hours of the morning, German media reported.

Commenting on the move, US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell welcomed Berlin’s change in stance and called on “all European Union member states to take similar action”.

In the Zionist entity, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz praised what he called “a significant step in the global fight against terrorism.”

He too urged the European Union “to do the same.”

Britain outlawed Hezbollah’s political wing last year, making membership of the Lebanese resistance movement or inviting support for it a “crime.”

Source: AFP (edited by Al-Manar English Website)