Germany has hardened its ban on Hamas and ordered the dissolution of pro-Palestinian organisations linked to the militant group amid a surge in antisemitic hate crimes in the country.

Berlin had already designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation, but a significant network of sympathetic charities, including Samidoun, which claims to campaign for the release of Palestinian political prisoners, was still allowed to function in the country.

“I have today completely banned the activities of a terrorist organisation that aims to destroy the state of Israel,” said interior minister Nancy Faeser. “Antisemitism has no place in Germany — no matter who it comes from. We will continue to fight it in all its forms with the full rigour of the rule of law.”