Last week, we marked the one year anniversary of the bombing in Bulgaria, in which a bus full of Israeli tourists was targeted by the terrorist organization Hezbollah, killing five Israeli citizens and the Bulgarian driver. The date was July 18, 2012. That date was not random, but was chosen by Hezbollah to “celebrate” another anniversary in their career of indiscriminate terrorism. On July 18, 1994, a suicide bomber launched a truck full of explosives at a Jewish community building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 85 and injuring over 300.
This October, Hezbollah will mark the 30th anniversary of the Beirut truck bombing which killed 241 Americans at the U.S. Marine barracks in 1983. Over the past three decades, Hezbollah has cemented itself as one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist organizations.
In just the past few years, Hezbollah and its Iranian backers have also launched attacks against Israeli and other Western targets in India, Azerbaijan, Thailand, Kenya, Turkey, and Cyprus.
Many Western nations have already labeled Hezbollah a terrorist organization, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Holland, Israel, and New Zealand.
Israel is encouraged by the news this week that all 28 members of the European Union finally decided to label the “military wing” of Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The vote was unanimous.
The designation of terrorist organizations by states and international organizations accomplishes more than "name and shame," it has practical benefits as well. For starters, it severely hampers the organization's fundraising ability. Without a legitimate cash flow, it becomes more difficult to purchase weapons on the black market and support a global network of terrorist cells and operatives.
With the EU’s designation, the international threat of Hezbollah can finally be matched with international support. It will now be illegal for European “charities” to funnel money towards Hezbollah for the purchase of weapons and other military goods. Financial entities in Europe will now be obligated to work with international law enforcement agencies to not only ensure they are not laundering money illegally, but to provide important information to assist in efforts to crack down on Hezbollah’s European presence. Hezbollah’s criminal activities go beyond terror, as they are known to be using drug running, counterfeiting of medicines and more to funnel money towards their terror activities. With the European Union’s decision, loopholes will be closed, channels will be frozen, and a concerted effort will be made to stop the global threat of Hezbollah.
Designation also gives a strong foundation for law enforcement, intelligence and judicial agencies to work with. You can’t fight international terror without international cooperation. If one country doesn’t have a terrorist group on their radar when they pass through, then any effort by other countries to track and monitor and ultimately prevent an attack falls through the wayside. Correctly identifying dangerous groups is the first step towards contending with them.
While the EU’s designation is an important step, it may be just that, a step. The European Union decided to label only the “military” wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist entity. The United States for example, does not separate the “military” from the “political.” State Department spokesman Patrick Vendell stated this May that “All [Hezbollah]’s arms and branches have a single leadership and joint financing.” Even the leaders of Hezbollah, by their own admission, say Hezbollah is a single entity. Their Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem recently commented “We (Hezbollah) have no military arm without a political arm.”
There is no doubt that Hezbollah, acting under the auspices of the Iranian regime, has stepped up their attacks against Western targets over the past few years. This week’s decision by the European Union can and will have drastic consequences in limiting Hezbollah’s ability to attack Europe, the United States, or Israel.