Israel Matzav

Europe blacklists Hezbullah's 'military wing'

EU's blacklisting of Hezbollah's armed wing was "insufficient" and "a typically half-done job" - @AvigdorLiberman
— Dan Williams (@DanWilliams) July 22, 2013

Avigdor Liberman has got it right. Although Europe finally agreed a short while ago - after months of deliberations - to blacklist Hezbullah's 'military wing,' that action is far from sufficient. What Europe has done is to leave active Hezbullah's fundraising arm in Europe, which is known as the 'political wing.' And that fundraising arm is run by the same people who run the 'military wing.'

This is from the second link.

But evidence from Bulgaria about the attack and concerns over Hezbollah's growing involvement in the war in Syria persuaded opponents to back the move, which triggers the freezing of any assets the group's armed wing may hold in the 28-nation EU.

"It is good that the EU has decided to call Hezbollah what it is: a terrorist organisation," Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers who decided on the blacklisting.

"We took this important step today, by dealing with the military wing of Hezbollah, freezing its assets, hindering its fundraising and thereby limiting its capacity to act."

According to London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, four countries had previously had reservations about the proposal to blacklist Hezbollah - the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Ireland and Malta. 

Freezing its assets? Limiting its ability to act? Let's not overstate it.

Blacklisting the military wing means the freezing of any assets it may hold in the 28-nation bloc, though officials say there is scant information on the extent of Hezbollah's presence in Europe or on its assets.

And for those who still don't know what Hezbullah is about, the IDF posted this video.

Let's go to the videotape.

Labels: European Union, Hezbullah, Hezbullah fundraising, Islamic terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:43 PM