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Bennett asks Australia to designate all of Hezbollah as terror organization

Issue is currently on Canberra’s agenda.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met on Monday with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, and discussed issues of mutual and pertinent interest.

Bennett requested that Australia officially define Hezbollah, in its entirety, as a terrorist organization, an issue that is currently on the agenda in Australia.

Australia’s bipartisan intelligence and security committee urged the government to declare all of Hezbollah a terrorist group in June.

In Europe, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Kosovo, Serbia, and Latvia have recognized the Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in its entirety.

Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Honduras, Paraguay, the US, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have all banned Hezbollah in its entirety.

Austria, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland have commenced similar processes.

Some other countries, including the European Union, have banned Hezbollah’s military wing, but not its political wing, which is very powerful in Lebanon.

The two leaders also discussed the Iranian nuclear threat, and Bennett asked Morrison to work toward a strong condemnation of Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting that is slated for later this month. Australia is a member of the board, together with another 34 countries.

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Bennett thanked Morrison for his country’s long-standing support of Israel in the international arena. The two discussed ways to enhance and upgrade bilateral relations, especially regarding climate innovation.

Similarly, Bennett met with Swiss President Guy Parmelin in Jerusalem last week and asked that Switzerland, as a member of the IAEA Board of Governors, press for “decisive steps against Iranian progress in their nuclear project.”