The Dilemma of Declaring Hezbollah a Terrorist Group

Mount Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon by Antal Ligeti

There are five levels of awareness:

1. Tuned out (one is totally unaware of surroundings).
2. Relaxed awareness (one pays attention to surroundings, but is able to enjoy life).
3. Focused awareness (one is carefully observing a potential danger).
4. High alert (one has confirmed a threat and needs to take action).
5. Comatose (one is in utter shock and unable to function).

France and the EU seem to be tuned out when it comes to Hezbollah.

The United States of America and Israel have asked Europe to blacklist Hezbollah (the Party of God) as a terrorist organisation. Europe has so far refused to do so: France argues that "proscribing [Hezbollah] as an illegal terrorist organisation could destabilise Lebanon and its current coalition government, of which Hezbollah is part" in addition to being a social organisation. Europe rejects the measure because it "would violate the 2002 bilateral trade agreement between Europe and Lebanon".

France's explanation mirrors its complete disorientation when it comes to Hybrid Terrorist Organisations; and Europe's justification is not only unacceptable (i.e. in 2002 Hezbollah did not belong to the government yet; meaning that the Lebanese administration was the one violating the article 2 of the trade pact, in the first place, when it allowed the Party of God to join its coalition) but also a prelude to a future political absolution (since the bilateral trade agreement between the EU and Palestine, in reality, funds another Hybrid Terrorist Organisation under the guise of Human Development in the, illegally termed, "occupied Palestinian territory").

Now back to Hezbollah...

Hezbollah is a terrorist group that pervaded the Lebanese democratic system in order to legitimise its paramilitary actions, to have access to more resources and influence the politics in the country (and beyond, as seen in the French case).

Europe claims that this group is a political organisation: then why the need for training camps in places like Nicaragua and Mexico? When intelligence services agents catch terrorists working for the Party of God, they identify themselves as being members of the Hezbollah, not of "Al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya" (The Islamic Resistance - the group's military wing).

EU member-states have been informed, by their intel agencies, that Europe is being used, by Hezbollah, as the bridge to Latin America (where, according to Carlos Echeverría [in "Hezbollah and Spain - Presence and Attention: Discreet but Relevant"], "the group's network is increasingly visible"); as a money laundromat and as its piggy bank to fund terror acts around the world...still, politicians want to play chess with the common citizen's lives.

When dealing with Hybrid Terrorist Organisations, political leaders make a gross mistake when cherry picking components related to such groups. For example, it was reported that one French argument is that Hezbollah does charity in Lebanon...Ambassador Ron Prosor, before the UNSC last week, counter-argued that "Calling Hezbollah a charity is like calling al-Qaeda an urban-planning organisation because of its desire to level tall buildings." - perhaps Europe plays deaf because it feels safe from any Islamist terrorist attack within the Eurozone; and France plays daft because it is over-confident about its ability to thwart Islamist terrorist attacks (since its security forces do not seize and question suspects; they simply shoot to kill...a strategy that, in itself, raises a lot of questions).

France and the EU need to be on high alert when it comes to Hezbollah. Their refusal to reach such level of awareness should prompt Israel and America to probe the real root of the Euro-dilemma.
Europe should be encouraged to change its mind as quickly as possible, before the fans of conspiracy theories begin formulating the hypothesis of Hezbollah being also a Euro-proxy in the anti-Israel war...