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German police raid pro-Palestinian feminist group

December 20, 2023

The raids were part of a probe into allegations that members of the group Zora were using emblems of the PFLP, which Israel, the EU and the US have designated a terrorist organization.

https://p.dw.com/p/4aNLq
Police officers carry boxes out of an apartment building during a search operation
6 apartments and 2 other rooms belonging to members of Zora were searched, police saidImage: Paul Zinken/dpa/picture alliance

Police in Berlin, Germany's capital, conducted on Wednesday a raid targeting members of a pro-Palestinian, left-wing feminist group, German media reported.

The Zora group is accused of backing the radical, left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The European Union and the United States list the group as a terrorist organization.

What do we know about the raid?

The GDP police trade union representative for the Berlin area, Benjamin Jendro, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that around 200 officers took part in the operation. 

They searched six flats, an office and a cafe in the districts of Neukölln, Friedrichshain, Karlshorst, Wedding, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding, the BZ newspaper reported.

There are six suspects, five of whom are said to belong to the group Zora.

German outlets reported that the raid was mainly prompted by a statement the group posted on its Instagram account on October 12. The statement was titled: "No liberation of women without the liberation of Palestine."

In the statement, the group argues that while the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which launched the October 7 terror attacks on Israel, has no interest in fighting the patriarchy, it is important to "strengthen the progressive forces that are also part of the Palestinian resistance" such as the PFLP.

The PFLP has historically been keen on organizing women and recruiting them in its activities.

What do we know about Zora?

The Zora group describes itself on its own website as an "independent, anti-capitalist organization for young women."

In a statement on December 15, the group criticized the "repression" it said the German state was exercising against both Palestinian solidarity and the fight against violence against women. It particularly noted increased searches against pro-Palestinian individuals since a ban on the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

"These are carried out on people who the state suspects of being close to the network, which in the reality of the racist authorities means that in this country you have to fear a search simply because you are Palestinian," the group said.

In early November, the German Interior Ministry banned both Samidoun and Hamas. The latter is designated as a terrorist organization in several countries, including Germany.

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters rally in Berlin

rmt/fb (dpa, EPD)

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