Israel to Urge EU to Blacklist Hizbullah after Bulgaria Bombing
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is to head to Brussels on Monday to press his European Union counterparts to blacklist Hizbullah as a terror group after a deadly bombing in Bulgaria.
Israel blames the Lebanese group and its Iranian ally for the attack near the Black Sea resort of Burgas which killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian driver on Wednesday.
The foreign ministry announcement late on Sunday came after Israeli intelligence chiefs told government ministers that they had evidence that Iran and Hizbullah had plotted attacks in more than 20 countries over the past two years.
"Minister Lieberman is travelling to Brussels and will ask the countries of the European Union to include Hizbullah in its blacklist of terrorist organizations and to tighten security measures at airports and around Israeli and Jewish institutions," the ministry statement said.
Lieberman said that Wednesday's bombing in Bulgaria, itself an EU member state, "has changed the way in which Hizbullah is seen.”
"This is a new terrorist crime by Hizbullah which joins a long list which this organization has been responsible for in recent years... European countries must draw the lessons."
Lieberman is due to hold talks with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, as well as his British and French counterparts William Hague and Laurent Fabius.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Sunday's cabinet meeting: "It is very important to be able to prove to the world that Iran and Hizbullah are behind this wave of attacks on every continent.
They “made preparations to carry out attacks in more than 20 countries around the world over the past two years," a statement from his office said.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the Bulgaria bombing, which was the deadliest on Israelis abroad since 2004.
Israel, in blaming Iran and Hizbullah for Wednesday's bombing, said it fitted a pattern of other attacks or attempted attacks on Israelis including in Thailand, India, Georgia, Kenya and Cyprus.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast denied any involvement, saying Tehran condemned "all terrorists attacks.”
Iran has in turn accused Israel of carrying out deadly attacks on its nuclear scientists. Hizbullah has also blamed Israel for the killing of one of its commanders, Imad Mughniyeh, in a Damascus car bombing in 2008.
Source: Agence France Presse
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