Israel praises Austria move to ban Hezbollah from EU

Austrian parliament unanimously passes resolution calling on European Union to end political/military distinction and declare Hezbollah a total terror group.

By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

Israel on Sunday praised Austria for calling on the European Union to declare all of the Lebanese Hezbollah organization a terrorist group, saying the EU has to stop pretending Hezbollah politicians are not terrorists.

“This is an important decision against Hezbollah,” Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said. “I hope that the Austrian Government will adopt their Parliament’s decision and will join the UK, Germany and the Netherlands who have all recognized Hezbollah in its entirety as a terror organization.”

“Israel welcomes the Austrian Parliament’s decision, calling for further measures to be taken against the Hezbollah terror organization. The decision, unanimously adopted by Parliament, calls upon the Austrian Gov to act against the terror organization’s activists and supporters,” the Foreign Ministry tweeted.

Israel “also calls on the EU to change their policy that artificially separates Hezbollah’s military and political wings.”

On Friday Austria’s parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the European Union to classify the entire Hezbollah organization as a terrorist group. Previously, the EU had separated between the military and political wings – a move Israel previously condemned as useless since Hezbollah considers itself to be a single unified organization.

The Austrian move came after Germany last month banned all activities by the Shiite terrorist organization in Germany.

Armed, trained and funded by Iran, the Hezbollah terror organization parrots Tehran’s policy seeking the “total annihilation” of Israel. Widely suspected of being behind the deadly 1990s bombings of the Israeli embassy and Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, three South American countries have also severed all ties with the terror group.

Hezbollah for years has been trying to take over Lebanon and complete what is called the Iranian Shiite crescent – a path of countries controlled by the ayatollahs in Tehran that stretches from Iran across Iraq and Syria and into Lebanon, spreading Iran’s philosophy of “death to America, death to Israel.”

Earlier this year Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called on followers of Iran to kill “every [American] soldier and every American officer in the region.”

European UnionGabi AshkenaziHezbollahIran