Israel Welcomes British Move to Ban Hizbullah
Israel's foreign minister on Monday welcomed Britain's decision to outlaw Hizbullah's political wing, calling for the United Nations to follow suit.
"I would like to praise the British government on the decision to recognize the entire Hizbullah organization as a terrorist organization," Israel Katz wrote on Twitter.
"In my upcoming meeting with the U.N. secretary-general in New York next week I will stress that the U.N. institutions should take a similar resolution," he added.
Britain said it would make membership of the group or inviting support for it a crime.
The decision follows outrage over the display of the Hizbullah flag at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London.
Hizbullah, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country's civil war, is seen by Israel as an Iranian proxy, seeking to extend the Islamic republic's military reach to Israel's northern border.
Israeli warplanes have carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria over the past few years against what Israel says are Iranian and Hizbullah targets.
Hizbullah was established in 1982 during Lebanon's civil war and is now a major political party in the country, holding three cabinet posts. It had spearheaded military operations against Israeli forces occupying southern Lebanon until the Israeli withdrawal in the year 2000.
Israel and Hizbullah also fought a 2006 war.
"The separation between the political and armed wings is a false and artificial separation," Israel's U.N. ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement.
"Both are controlled and supported by Iran, and enable the organization to continue to raise funds on European soil," he added.
Israel in December accused Hizbullah of digging cross-border tunnels into its territory from southern Lebanon and destroyed them in a military operation.
Israel and the United States consider Hizbullah in its entirety a terrorist organization while the U.N. and the European Union only proscribe its military wing.
"All who truly wish to combat terror must reject the fake distinction between 'military' and 'political' wings," Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan tweeted on Monday.
"Now is the time for the EU to follow suit," he added.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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