Israel Matzav

Europeans continue to contemplate their collective navel, Generallissimo Francisco Franco still dead

When I was younger, this was a symbol of when you'd heard something too often. It's from the early days of Saturday Night Live.

Let's go to the videotape.



Yes, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead, and the European Union is still thinking about banning Hezbullah... or at least its 'military wing.'

The Europeans are considering three options – First, to sanction individuals from the organization by stopping their funds and not allowing them to enter the EU. Second, banning the military wing of the organization as it does with Hamas and third, which is the option favored by the United States and Israel, putting the entire organization on the terror list.

The sources said that the issue would be on the agenda in the next meeting of the EU foreign ministers that will deal with arming the Syrian opposition, which they want to settle by the end of the month.

According to the sources, it “would be difficult” to continue defending the reasoning that Hezbollah is a political entity that contributes to stability when it is involved in the fighting in Syria and threatening to increase its involvement.

The results from the Burgas suicide bombing – in which five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian were killed – are supposed to prove Hezbollah’s involvement but have not been provided yet. They could push the 27 member-states of the EU to vote unanimously to list the organization on its terror list.

The report also said that if the evidence from the Burgas bombing and recent terror plots in Cyprus is convincing, it could even sway France, which has been reluctant to add Hezbollah to the list.

The most likely move for a reluctant EU would seem to be option one or two, as many European governments try to envision that the military wing of the organization is separate from the political wing.

Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow and director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s Stein Program on Counter-terrorism and Intelligence, and the former deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the US Department of the Treasury, demonstrates in his research that Hezbollah, like Hamas, are fully coordinated organizations, where the political and military wings are not separate, but intertwined.

 That's a no brainer - even Hezbullah admits it.

Labels: European Union, Hezbullah

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:56 AM