The United Kingdom is set to ban the Iranian-backed, Lebanese based terror organization Hezbollah in its entirety, according to a senior Conservative Party source. Currently, Hezbollah is not completely proscribed under UK law. Instead, the government has banned the “military wing” of Hezbollah only, but not the “political wing.”
In an op-ed for The Algemeiner, published on Friday, TIP Senior Fellow Julie Lenarz argued that “This absurd spectacle has been going on for far too long.”
“The United Kingdom has suffered more than enough terrorist attacks over the last few decades, and every time that a terrorist flag is hoisted on our soil, it’s a grotesque insult to the victims, their families — and, indeed, the entire country,” she said.
The UK’s Home Secretary Sajid Javid reportedly decided to move towards a full ban on Hezbollah, following the annual Al-Quds march in London earlier this month. Speakers demanded that Israel “should be wiped off the map,” while protesters chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – advocating the annihilation of the Jewish State. Authorities did not intervene when Hezbollah flags were waved during the march.
“Hezbollah is not a legitimate political actor. It is a military organization, funded and trained by the mullah regime in Iran for terrorist operations abroad,” Lenarz observed. “The group openly advocates for a pan-Islamic state led by an Islamic clergy based on the principles of the leader of the Revolution of 1979, Ayatollah Ali Khomeini.”
According to her, the Shiite terrorist group is just as dangerous as its Sunni counterparts like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, sharing “with them the violent Islamist ideology dedicated to our destruction.”
Lenarz explained that, while Hezbollah’s “operational focus” is in the Middle East, we shouldn’t be “fooled into thinking that Hezbollah’s wrath is restricted,” to that region. “They are just as committed to see us bleed,” she said, citing the example of Hezbollah attacks against the U.S. embassy and marine barracks in Lebanon in the 1980s.
“Let’s be clear: The distinction between Hezbollah’s so-called “military” and “political” wings is entirely fictional,” Lenarz charged “It has been mocked by the group’s leadership, and the terrorist organization has repeatedly rejected the notion that there are two distinct entities. To them, their members are all Hezbollah.”
Lenarz pointed out that “For many years, politicians from across the aisle have called on the UK government to proscribe Hezbollah in its entirety.” She concluded, saying: “There is no good and bad Hezbollah. There’s only Hezbollah, a vicious terrorist organization.”
[Photo: Israel Advocacy Movement / YouTube ]