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German Authorities Report More Than 3,500 Crimes Related to Oct. 7 Hamas Pogrom in Israel
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Holger Münch, president of the Federal Criminal Police Office, at a press conference in Berlin. Photo: Reuters/Christian Spicker
German officials announced on Monday that more than 3,500 crimes emanating from the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel have been recorded, at least 14 percent of which can be considered unambiguously antisemitic.
At a joint press conference on Monday at the Berlin headquarters of the Joint Counter-Terrorism Center, where federal and state authorities exchange information on threats to national security, Nancy Faeser, Germany’s Interior Minister, and Holger Münch, president of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), disclosed that a total of 3,532 crimes related to the Hamas onslaught six weeks ago have been reported.
Of these, 500 were clearly antisemitic, mainly perpetrated by Islamists, Münch said. Approximately 30 percent of the crimes involved vandalism or damage to property, with another 15 percent categorized as incitement. “The number of violent crimes is in the mid three-digit range. That is also high,” he said.
Münch warned that while there was no intelligence suggesting an imminent threat to Jewish institutions, “the potential for escalation is great.” He noted as well that there had been a 47 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in Germany during the last four years, some of which came from the far right, but much of which can be pinned on “foreign religious ideologies” — a reference to Islamist extremism.
Faeser, who has expressed support for the deportation of Hamas supporters in Germany who are not permanent residents, separately decried the “disgusting terrorist propaganda” promoted by supporters of Hamas, pledging to retain pressure on social media platforms to shut down pro-Hamas accounts. A total of 98 channels on the Telegram channel have been shut down at the urging of the BKA, while the total number of requests to shut down offending accounts across all social media platforms was 500.
Monday’s press conference came on the eve of the first meeting in nearly two years of the German Islamic Conference (DIK), an umbrella body created in 2006 to bring together the leadership of Muslim communities in Germany. The two-day parley will address the theme of “combating antisemitism and anti-Muslim hostility in times of social division.”
The meeting will not include representatives of the Central Council of Muslims (ZRM), whose secretary-general, Abdassamad El Yazidi, issued a much-criticized statement on Oct. 8 which failed to condemn Hamas outright for its onslaught against Israeli civilians. The ZRM also faced strong disapproval for allegedly dithering over the suspension of the Islamic Center of Hamburg (IZH), a Shi’a organization supported by the Iranian regime that has been closely monitored by the federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The IZH from the Council was suspended only after a search of its facilities by police officers.
Speaking to broadcaster DW on Monday, El Yazidi insisted that it was “unfair and insulting” to portray the ZRM as supporting Hamas. However, he added, he regretted his statement of Oct. 8, saying that “it would have been better to condemn the barbarism of Hamas, make one point and [make the other point] later.”
In a separate interview on Monday, the newly-appointed Mayor of Munich, Domink Krause, said that the authorities in the Bavarian capital would adopt a similar stance to radical Muslim organizations as with the far right.
“We should not work with those communities that are radical, just like we don’t work with right-wing extremist organizations,” Krause told the Abendzeitung news outlet.
Asked whether he was playing into the hands of right-wing parties by highlighting Muslim antisemitism when he himself is on the left of the Green Party, Krause demurred. “It was always clear to me that I would take a clear stance on a wide variety of discrimination and attacks on democracy,” he said. “And that should apply to everyone — beyond the political camps. I also find it problematic when groups from the left of the political spectrum now begin to organize against Israel.”
Krause added that he had been talking to contacts in Be’er Sheva, the Israeli city twinned with Munich. “At the moment, everything is heavily influenced by concern about the hostages, concern about the military operation, and how the situation will develop further,” he said.
He added that “there is also a lot of compassion for the Palestinian civilian population, but also the very clear statement: As long as Hamas is there, there will be no peace, neither for the Palestinians nor for the Israelis. Action must now be taken against Hamas. What should not be forgotten is that rockets are still flying towards Israel — Be’er Sheva is relatively close to the border with the Gaza Strip, and there was also destruction there.”
Krause’s Green Party colleague, federal Food and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir, also criticized Germany’s Muslim leadership on Monday, emphasizing the role played by Ditib, a Turkish Muslim organization that commands the loyalties of 900 imams across Germany.
Ditib is in turn supervised by Diyanet, the Turkish government’s Directorate of Religious Affairs, whose head, Ali Erbas, was denounced by Özdemir as “simply an antisemite.” Erbas recently described Israel as a “rusty dagger in the heart of the Muslim world.”
Diyanet reports directly to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose barbs against Israel have multiplied since Oct. 7. Erdogan flew to Germany last week for an official visit that brought fresh German media attention on the activities of Turkish lobby groups in the country.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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