Paraguay joined nations like the U.S. which identify the Islamic extremist groups Hamas and Hezbollah as terror organizations.
By World Israel News Staff
On Monday, Paraguay announced that it is officially labeling Hamas and Hezbollah as terror groups in a move that garnered praise from Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I welcome the decision of Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez to define Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations. We are working so that more countries will also take this important step,” said Netanyahu in a statement that was released following Paraguay’s announcement.
The Paraguayan president designated Hamas and Hezbollah as terror organizations in an official declaration earlier in the month that also mentioned the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.
Following the move, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced on Twitter, “This recognition contributes to the joint international struggle against the terror of Hamas, Hezbollah and their chief benefactor, Iran. I call upon more states to join Paraguay and recognize these organizations as ones of terror.”
“We will continue to work tirelessly so organizations of this nature be recognized as terror organizations. The entire world must unite as one in the fight against the terror that Iran and their disciples spread,” Katz added.
Paraguay’s decision arrives just one month after Argentina became the first Latin American country toHezbollah a terrorist organization. Hezbollah is widely believed to be behind bombings of the Israeli embassy and Jewish center in Buenos Aires in the 1990s.
Brazil is also reportedly considering labeling Hezbollah a terror group, reported JNS.
Earlier in the year, the United Kingdom outlawed Hezbollah’s so-called political wing, with the U.K.’s Home Secretary Sajid Javid explaining that the decision to designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization was an effort to protect the British people.
“Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilize the fragile situation in the Middle East – and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety,” said Javid at the time.
U.K. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn once famously referred in Parliament to members of the Hezbollah and Hamas terror groups as his “friends.”
Currently, Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by Canada, the U.S., Israel, the Netherlands, the Arab League, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Both Hezbollah and Hamas receive massive amounts of funding from Iran each year, in addition to training, arms, and other support.
According to public statements by leaders from both terror groups, they would all but cease to exist without regular injections of Iranian funds.