Hezbollah ban approved by Commons
MPS HAVE approved the decision of Home Secretary Sajid Javid to ban Iranbacked terror group Hezbollah in its entirety — a move welcomed by Jewish communal leaders.
Following a Parliamentary debate on the prevention of terrorism on Tuesday, the motion passed with no opposition.
The decision must be approved by the House of Lords before it comes into effect, which could happen on Friday.
Announcing the move — first revealed by the JC on September 27 last year — Mr Javid said he had banned the “terrorist organisation” to protect the “safety and security” of the British people.
The Board of Deputies, the
Jewish Leadership Council and Labour
Friends of Israel under chair Joan Ryan have long called for reconsideration of the UK’s position on the Lebanon-based political party and militia.
Since 2008, the UK has banned only Hezbollah’s so-called “armed wing”, leaving Islamists taking part in the annual Al Quds Day March in London to wave the group’s yellow flag and claim to be expressing support only for the “political wing”.
The Home Secretary said: “My priority… is to protect the British people. We identify and ban any terrorist organisation which threatens our safety and security… We are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party.”
The order states that being a member of, or inviting support for, Hezbollah, Ansaroul Islam and Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin — all jihadist groups — will be a criminal offence, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.