Issa Remmo turned up unannounced at the Left Party’s election party in Neukölln and said that, for the first time, he felt supported by a party in Germany. That produced the evening’s spectacular photo. For the political classification, however, another man is crucial: standing beside Remmo was Ibrahim Ibrahim, spokesman for the VPNK and, according to the research association democ, a longtime PFLP activist. Operating under the umbrella of the VPNK are, according to the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution, supporters of Hamas and the PFLP together. This environment had long been known to the Left Party’s Neukölln branch before election night.

The two matters must be considered separately. Based on the information currently available, there is no evidence of any political or personal connection between Issa Remmo and the Left Party. The district association subsequently stated that the event had been public and that Remmo had not been on the guest list. Ibrahim Ibrahim, by contrast, was not an unknown visitor who happened to enter through an open door. His appearances at events organized by the Left Party’s Neukölln branch date back at least to 2025.

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Remmo arrived unannounced at the election party

Issa Remmo is regarded as the head of the Berlin Remmo family. Several members of the extended family have been convicted in serious criminal cases, including for their involvement in the theft of the 100-kilogram gold coin “Big Maple Leaf” from Berlin’s Bode Museum. The fact that Remmo was present unannounced at the election party must initially be separated from that.

According to consistent media reports, Remmo appeared on election night at Ballhaus Rixdorf during the Neukölln Left Party’s celebration. The district association subsequently stated that there were “neither political nor personal relations” with him. Remmo had appeared unannounced at the election party, and the event had been open to the public.

Remmo himself expressed considerable enthusiasm for the party in comments to the Berliner Morgenpost. He said that, for the first time, he felt supported by a Berlin party. Regarding the antisemitism allegations against parts of Berlin’s Left Party he said: “Berlin’s Left Party is not hostile toward Jews.” He also said: “I would not vote for an anti-Jewish politician.”

This statement becomes noteworthy because of the man seen immediately beside Remmo in photographs. Ibrahim Ibrahim publicly described former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a “steadfast leader” and “martyr hero.”

It is unclear whether Remmo was also at the election party in Kreuzberg

There are differing accounts concerning the Berlin state association’s central election party at Festsaal Kreuzberg. The Tagesspiegel reported, citing a media report, that Remmo also appeared there after his visit to Neukölln.

Left Party lead candidate Elif Eralp described the incident differently on ZDF on election night: “He was not invited and was sent back out.” She added: “We have nothing to do with organized crime; we fight it.” State executive director Bjoern Tielebein likewise told t-online that Remmo had neither been invited nor been on a guest list. He explicitly described him as not being an ally of the party.

This does not establish that Remmo attended the state association’s election celebration at its invitation or was treated there as a welcome guest. The state association expressly distanced itself from him.

Ibrahim was a longtime VPNK activist

Ibrahim Ibrahim’s background is different. The research association democ describes him as a longtime PFLP activist. In Berlin, he repeatedly appeared as a spokesman for the “United Palestinian National Committee,” or VPNK for short.

As early as 2025, Ibrahim appeared at events organized by the Left Party’s Neukölln branch as a VPNK speaker. The Tagesspiegel documented in August 2025 a pro-Palestinian solidarity festival held by the district association, at which the VPNK was listed on the event flyers as one of the organizers. Ibrahim spoke there on behalf of the National Committee. As early as June, he had appeared as a speaker at a Left Party gathering outside Neukölln Town Hall. Neukölln Bundestag member Ferat Koçak also spoke at the event.

That Ibrahim was not merely an unknown visitor there is also shown by the greeting from the district association’s spokesman, Hermann Nehls. The WELT documented his words outside Neukölln Town Hall: “I am very pleased that Ibrahim is speaking to us now.”

The district association later also defended the cooperation publicly. On the Left Party’s Neukölln branch’s own website the allegations against the VPNK are addressed as follows: “The VPNK representatives at our events have our fullest trust, and we know that they stand with us on all fundamental principles.” At the same time, the district association rejects the Office for the Protection of the Constitution’s assessment there and states that it cannot confirm the allegations made.

In June 2025, Ferat Koçak distanced himself from extremist positions in comments to WELT. He said that he had not known Ibrahim and decisively rejected “any form of terrorism, glorification of violence, and extremist positions.” This statement is part of the complete classification of the event at the time.

On election night, Ibrahim again appeared in the vicinity of the celebration. t-online reports on a photograph circulated by Tagesspiegel in which Koçak apparently stands in Ibrahim’s immediate vicinity. The photograph alone proves neither personal proximity nor political agreement, and it also does not show whether Koçak recognized Ibrahim at that moment. What is clear, however, is that Ibrahim’s previous appearances at events of the district association had already been publicly documented by that time.

What the Office for the Protection of the Constitution says about the VPNK

The assessment of the network comes not only from media reports. The Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution describes the VPNK as an umbrella designation under which supporters of the Islamist Hamas and supporters of the secular PFLP appear and organize events together.

The Berlin Senate also confirmed this assessment in 2025 in response to a parliamentary inquiry. According to the response, supporters of Hamas and the PFLP work closely together under the umbrella designation VPNK and have mobilized for public rallies since October 7, 2023. The Senate describes the organizations named, or the umbrella designation, as structures pursuing anti-constitutional aims and therefore subject to monitoring by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

The assessment is also not rendered moot by the passage of time. The Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution report for 2025, published in June 2026 states that, under the VPNK label, supporters of the PFLP and Hamas, among others, have acted together since October 7, 2023. Despite their ideological differences, supporters of both organizations worked closely together in Berlin.

⚠️ Context

The VPNK is not synonymous with Hamas or the PFLP. The Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution does, however, document close cooperation between supporters of both organizations under this umbrella designation. This is therefore not a blanket assumption of guilt by association, but a network specifically described by the competent security authority.

The PFLP is more than an entry on a terror list

The “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,” or PFLP for short, remains on the European Union’s terror list. Its history explains why this classification is not merely a bureaucratic label.

The organization, founded in 1967, became internationally known through aircraft hijackings, hostage-taking, and attacks. During the German Autumn in 1977, a Palestinian commando from the PFLP milieu hijacked the Lufthansa aircraft “Landshut,” among other things to free imprisoned RAF terrorists. The Federal Agency for Civic Education also documents the PFLP’s close ties to German left-wing extremists during that period.

The PFLP’s armed wing also took part in the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Human Rights Watch confirmed the involvement of the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades after evaluating video footage and publications by armed groups.

When Ibrahim Ibrahim is therefore described as a PFLP activist or PFLP supporter, that attribution remains with the respective sources. This does not claim formal membership.

Sinwar as a “martyr hero,” respect for Nasrallah

Ibrahim’s own public speeches are also documented. At the Berlin “United4Gaza” demonstration in October 2025, according to the research association democ he described Yahya Sinwar as a “steadfast leader” and “martyr hero.”

As a Hamas leader, Sinwar played a major role in organizing and coordinating the October 7, 2023 massacre. In the same speech, Ibrahim expressed his “highest respect” for former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.

Hamas and the PFLP are listed as organizations on the current EU terror list. In the case of Hezbollah, the European Union explicitly lists its military wing.

“Resistance in all its forms”

In May 2026, Ibrahim again appeared as a VPNK spokesman at a demonstration marking the so-called Nakba Day. The research association democ documented the following sentence from his Arabic-language speech: “Our people will wage resistance in all its forms until the occupation disappears from the entire territory of Palestine, including its capital, Jerusalem.”

The wording is not limited to Gaza or individual disputed territories. It explicitly refers to the entire area that Ibrahim calls Palestine, including Jerusalem. Precisely in connection with his work as a VPNK spokesman, this wording is relevant to the political classification.

The state association and the Neukölln district association must be distinguished

This is one of the most important differences in the entire affair. The Berlin state association immediately distanced itself from Issa Remmo. On ZDF, Elif Eralp said that the unannounced visitor had been sent back out. She added: “We have nothing to do with organized crime; we fight it.”

The Neukölln district association, by contrast, has a documented political history involving the VPNK. In 2025, the district association deliberately cooperated with representatives of the National Committee at its own events, publicly defended this cooperation, and rejected the Office for the Protection of the Constitution’s assessment. Ibrahim appeared there as a VPNK spokesman. On its own website, the district association stated that the VPNK representatives at its events had its “fullest trust.”

These two levels must not be conflated. The state association’s distancing from Remmo is documented. The Neukölln district association’s earlier deliberate contacts with the VPNK are likewise documented.

This is therefore not about possible criminal liability arising merely from being present at an election party. There is no basis for such a claim. The political question is rather how the district association deals with an environment that Berlin’s security authorities have described for years and whose representatives had already appeared at events organized by the district association.

The debate gains additional weight after the election victory

After the preliminary official result came in, Die Linke received 25.7 percent of the second votes in the election to the House of Representatives on September 20, 2026, and became the strongest force.

This also touches on the possible formation of a government. Governing Mayor Kai Wegner of the CDU described Remmo’s appearance as a “disturbing signal” and called for clear distance from structures of organized crime.

Green Party state chair Nina Stahr also called for clarification. She said the state association had to discuss the incident and the antisemitism debate with the actors in Neukölln. There would have to be clarity on these issues before a government was formed.

Eralp, for her part, explicitly distanced herself from Remmo and from organized crime. Thus, the distinction between Remmo’s unannounced visit and the Neukölln district association’s longer-documented contacts with the VPNK remains decisive for the further debate.

Issa Remmo’s appearance at a public election party does not prove a political connection to Die Linke. Ibrahim Ibrahim has a different documented background: His appearances as a VPNK representative at events organized by Die Linke Neukölln, the district association’s cooperation with representatives of the National Committee, and the latter’s public rejection of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution’s assessment date back to 2025.

Remmo provides the striking photo from election night. Ibrahim Ibrahim provides the political context behind it. The difference is decisive: According to the information available so far, the former arrived without prior notice. The other’s environment had long been known to the district association.