French President Jacques Chirac (5thL) gestures as he gives a speech during a major conference on international aid for Lebanon, 25 January 2007 in Paris. On July 12, the E.U. parliament passed a resolution calling for Hezbollah to be added to the list of banned terrorist groups. PHOTO BY PATRICK KOVARIK/GETTY IMAGES
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives joined together earlier this week to insist that the European Union classify Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization, as opposed to solely its “military wing.” An influential group that issued a similar push prior to that is the international alliance’s own legislature.
On July 12, the E.U. parliament passed a resolution calling for Hezbollah to be added to the list of banned terrorist groups.
The International Legal Forum (ILF) released a statement in response that applauded the decision. It said “Hezbollah is a genocidal jihadist terrorist group created, funded and instructed at the behest of the Iranian regime. It presents not only a direct threat to Israel but the E.U. as well.”
ILF dismissed efforts to divide Hezbollah into separate “political” and “military” divisions, calling such thinking “not only superfluous but dangerous.”
CEO Arsen Ostrovsky explained the resolution, telling Zenger News: “The European Parliament decision is not binding. It still needs to go to the European Commission to be formally ratified and Hezbollah added to the terror list in full.”
Ostrovsky called the E.U. parliament’s move “very important” and that it “carries significant weight.” He said it was the first time that parliament has called for Hezbollah “to be designated in full” and hoped that “U.S. pressure will carry additional weight now with the Commission to take the next, final steps.”
Produced in association with Jewish News Syndicate
(Additional reporting provided by JNS Reporter)
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