Israel Again Urges EU to Blacklist Hizbullah as 'Terrorist' Organization
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday urged the European Union to place Hizbullah on its list of "terrorist" organizations.
Netanyahu made the request during talks with Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi on the disputed nuclear program of Iran, Hizbullah’s leading regional ally.
"I think that the international community must set a clear red line for Iran that it knows that it cannot go beyond in its pursuit of nuclear weapons, and I think that as hard as it is, the economic sanctions have to be intensified,” Netanyahu said.
"We appreciate the efforts that you have made and that others in Europe are making. There is one other effort that I think Europe could make to advance the cause of security and peace, and that is to declare Iran's proxy, Hizbullah, a terrorist organization," he added.
"It is exactly that. It's the world's leading terror organization, and Europe could contribute much by declaring it for what it is."
In July, the European Union turned down a request by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to blacklist Hizbullah as a terror group after a deadly bombing in Bulgaria.
"There is no consensus for putting Hizbullah on the list of terrorist organizations," said Cypriot Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
Kozakou-Marcoullis said Hizbullah was an organization comprising a party as well as an armed wing and was "active in Lebanese politics" -- with representatives in the government and in parliament.
Israel blames Iran and Hizbullah for the July 18 suicide attack at the Black Sea airport of Burgas in which five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver died.
It also says that Iran and Hizbullah plotted to carry out more than 20 attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets over the past two years.
Iran and Hizbullah have denied the accusations.
Source: Agence France Presse
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