EU must designate Hezbollah as terror organization, lawmakers say
Some 230 lawmakers worldwide have urged the European Union to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist group.
“Hezbollah, the Iranian regime’s most deadly proxy, operates a global terror network that threatens not only its neighbors, but also Western democracies,” the lawmakers said in a letter they planned to send to the EU on Friday. “In Germany alone, Hezbollah has over 1,000 supporters... the group’s violent and antisemitic ideology is poisoning the fabric for our pluralistic societies.”
The EU already recognizes Lebanon-based Hezbollah’s military wing as a terror group, but has not extended that designation to the organization’s political wing.
In their letter, the legislators urged “the EU to end this false distinction between ‘military’ and ‘political’ arms – a distinction Hezbollah itself dismisses – and ban the entire organization.”
Signatories to the letter included 131 members of European national legislatures, 73 members of the European Parliament, 17 members of the US Congress, eight members of the Parliament of Canada and six Knesset members.
The letter was organized and released by American Jewish Committee’s Transatlantic Institute in
Brussels. It was designed to come out around the July 18 anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Argentina, in which 85 people were killed. It’s believed Iran and Hezbollah were behind the bombing. The letter is also linked to the July 18, 2012, Hezbollah-backed bombing of a tour bus of Israelis in Bulgaria, in which five Israelis and the Bulgarian bus driver were killed.
The text, referred to as the Transatlantic Declaration, was scheduled to be sent to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, European Council President Charles Michel, European Parliament President David Sassoli and to the governments of all EU member states.
Separately on Thursday, President
Reuven Rivlin toured the Lebanese border. He warned Iran and Hezbollah were working to destabilize Israeli security there and called for the UN Interim Force in Lebanon to be fully empowered to monitor the situation.
“I know that the IDF is doing everything to prevent attempts to infiltrate. But the Lebanese government, and UNIFIL, which assists it, must take responsibility for preventing attempts to cross the border and breaching the calm in this area,” Rivlin said.
Rivlin’s visit comes in advance of the UN Security Council’s anticipated renewal in August of UNIFIL’s mandate that governs the peacekeeping mission’s activities. Both Israel and the US want to see UNIFIL’s mandate expanded so it can better monitor Hezbollah’s activities along the border.
At issue in particular, has been the crossborder terror tunnels that Hezbollah has dug.
Rivlin was accompanied on his visit by the Galilee Division commander Brig.-Gen. Shlomi Binder.
The president spoke of the withdrawal from southern Lebanon 20 years ago, and met with former commanders who served in that former security buffer zone. He said he supported the IDF chief of staff’s decision to establish a committee to consider awarding a campaign medal to those who fought in the campaign.