Hezbollah
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler writes: Of course, due to the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, there is still an increased risk that Hamas or Hezbollah sympathizers will decide to commit acts of violence even without instructions from Iran. Unfortunately, it can be assumed that the current military conflict has further radicalized the violence-oriented anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli milieu in Germany. For these reasons, it is important that the German security authorities continue to monitor these dangers closely in the current phase in order to be able to intervene at an early stage. The German government's decision on June 13, the day of the first Israeli airstrikes on Iran, to increase the protection of Israeli and Jewish facilities was important. This increased protection should be maintained.
Nasrallah’s funeral and Hezbollah’s show of strength
On February 23, five months after an Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Hezbollah held a funeral for its deceased leader of more than 30 years. Simultaneously, Hezbollah held a funeral for Hashem Safieddine...
"Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the NGO Counter Extremism Project, spoke to DW about what the new Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire means.
Asked whether the deal could hold, as Iran, Hezbollah's main backer, seems to have agreed to its terms, Schindler said: "Absolutely. Hezbollah, especially now in its weakened form, is more dependent on Iran than it was a year ago. And hence, if the guys who are paying for the show are telling you that this is the decision, it is very clear that Hezbollah is going to keep to the agreement.""
"Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project and former Ambassador of the UK to Yemen, told MailOnline: 'This is pretty much a total Israeli victory. Hezbollah’s leadership, infrastructure, communications and weaponry have been severely damaged."
"Israel 'will not leave anything to the UN in future' and will be 'quick to call out' any resupply of Hezbollah as all parties look to learn from the shortcomings of the last Resolution on peace, said Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Advisor to the Counter Extremism Project and former UK ambassador to Yemen."
“Hezbollah has been classified as a terrorist organization in Germany since 2019. Nevertheless, it has a considerable support scene - also in Germany and Europe. In an interview, extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler explains Hezbollah's activities in Lebanon and Europe. Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler is Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project. He is also the former coordinator of the UN Security Council's ISIL, Al-Qaida and Taliban Monitoring Team.”
“The actions of the Israeli army in Lebanon against the terrorist organization Hezbollah have an impact not only on the Middle East region, but also on Germany, as terrorism expert Hans Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) in Berlin and New York, explains to the Berliner Morgenpost. He also describes Germany's role for the Lebanese militia. First of all: Who is Hezbollah? The "Party of God" is a Shiite organization that is mainly active in Lebanon. Like the Palestinian Hamas, it is divided into a political and military arm. The focus of Hezbollah, which is classified as a terrorist organization in Germany, is the fight against Israel and the spread of the Islamist revolution in Iran, says Schindler. He previously worked for the German government and was an advisor on the topics of Islamic State, al-Qaeda and the Taliban - including at the United Nations Security Council.”
"Qassem, 71, was among the founding members of Hezbollah in 1982 and has served as the party's second in command since the group entered the political realm in the early 1990's, according to The Counter Extremism Project, an international organization. He was born in 1953, and his family is from the village of Kfar Fila, on the border with Israel."
"Selling illegal drugs in Europe is a quick way for Hezbollah to raise money because of ample demand and supply, according to Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, a U.S.-German nonprofit policy organization.
“Europe is the largest consumer of cocaine worldwide, bigger than the United States, so the demand is there,” said Schindler, a former U.N. Security Council and German government official."
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler quoted: "Another source of income for Hezbollah is criminal business - for example, extortion of Lebanese businessmen abroad. "By repeatedly reminding Lebanese businessmen abroad, but also Lebanese communities, that a fee must be paid for the good cause," explains Schindler. There are some "who do it voluntarily, others who don't - but in the end you have to pay.""
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