A group of US legislators have urged the European Union to fully designate Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization without making any distinction between its military and political wings.
Congressmen Gus Bilirakis and Brad Schneider, along with Senators Jacky Rosen and Marsha Blackburn, introduced the bipartisan, bicameral resolution in which they pointed out that Hezbollah continues to use Europe as a launching pad for its criminal and terrorist activities, while the EU only includes the group’s military on its list of sanctioned terrorist organizations, according to a press release issued by the Foreign Affairs press office of Bilirakis.
“It is critical for members of the EU to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. This designation will make it more difficult for Hezbollah to raise money to fund its terrorist activities around the globe,” the statement quoted Bilirakis as saying.
On his part, Schneider said, “The European Union cannot ignore Iran-backed Hezbollah’s menacing presence in the Middle East, its terrorist efforts outside the region, and its exploitation of global financial networks to fund its nefarious activities. The United States must take the lead in urging our global partners, including the EU, to acknowledge Hezbollah for what it truly is: a terrorist organization.”
Blackburn maintained that designating Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist group “is a step toward countering Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East.” She stressed that the group’s entire organization, “not just its military wing,” is connected to terrorism.
“The designation will help strip Hezbollah of the funding it uses to conduct terrorist activities,” Blackburn added.
The resolution’s introduction comes on the eleventh anniversary of Hezbollah’s deadly attack in Bulgaria on a bus carrying Israeli youths, killing six people, including the Bulgarian bus driver, and injuring dozens of others.
