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Germany Bans Pro-Palestinian Group Samidoun, Slams Iran

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a lower house of parliament Bundestag session, in Berlin, Germany, October 12, 2023. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a lower house of parliament Bundestag session, in Berlin, Germany, October 12, 2023. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
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Germany Bans Pro-Palestinian Group Samidoun, Slams Iran

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a lower house of parliament Bundestag session, in Berlin, Germany, October 12, 2023. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a lower house of parliament Bundestag session, in Berlin, Germany, October 12, 2023. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen

Germany will ban the pro-Palestinian group Samidoun, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday, adding that its members were celebrating Hamas "terror" in Israel on German streets.
"Our law governing associations is a sharp sword. And we, as a strong constitutional state, will draw this sword," Scholz said in an address to parliament in Berlin.
The group, which identifies as a Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, posted photos on Instagram on Sunday of pro-Palestinian activists distributing sweets in Berlin in celebration of Saturday's Hamas attack in Israel.
The group has been organising pro-Palestinian protests and is now monitored by Berlin's domestic intelligence agency, according to German magazine Der Spiegel.

Scholz told legislators that Iran bore responsibility for allowing Hamas to grow to the point where it launched the weekend's attack on Israel.

"While we have no firm proof that Iran operationally supported this cowardly attack, it is clear to us all that without Iranian support Hamas would never have been able to launch this unprecedented attack," he said.

"Sadly, we can foresee the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza strip likely growing further - but that too is the fault of Hamas and its attack on Israel," he added.
 

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Khamenei: Iran Doesn’t Have Proxies in the Region

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
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Khamenei: Iran Doesn’t Have Proxies in the Region

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran

Iran’s supreme leader denied Sunday that militant groups around the region functioned as Tehran’s proxies, warning that if his country chose to “take action,” it would not need them anyway.
Ali Khamenei told a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran, “They keep saying that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxy forces in the region! This is another mistake. If one day we want to take action, we do not need a proxy force,” according to his website.
Khamenei then attacked the United States and its ally Israel over developments in Syria, and hinted at internal criticism of Iran's regional role.
“Their plans in Syria led to unrest and chaos, and now the United States, the Zionist regime, and their allies, feeling victorious, have resorted to extravagant claims and nonsensical talk, like the followers of devil,” he said.
The Iranian leader then quoted an American official as saying that Washington will “provide assistance and support to anyone causing unrest in Iran.”
Such statements, he said, are an example of the enemies’ boastful rhetoric. “The Iranian nation with their strong steps will trample underfoot any US mercenary who accepts this role,” he added.
Khamenei then addressed the Israelis saying, “You Zionists haven’t won; you’ve been defeated. Yes, you were able to advance a few kilometers in Syria where there wasn't even one soldier with a gun to stop you. That’s not victory. Indeed, the courageous, devout, young people of Syria will definitely expel you from there.”
He added, “You wretched people! Where have you won? Have you won in Gaza? Have you destroyed Hamas? Have you freed your own prisoners? Is this victory to kill over 40,000 people without being able to achieve even one of your goals? Despite killing Hassan Nasrallah, have you managed to eliminate Hezbollah in Lebanon?”
Khamenei also affirmed that Iran has not lost its proxies in the region.
“Iran doesn’t have proxy forces. Yemen fights due to their faith. Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so,” he said.
IRGC commander Hossein Salami, five days after Assad's fall, had denied that Iran had lost its regional arms. “Some suggest the Iranian regime has lost its arms, but this is not true. The regime still has its arms,” he said.