UK government confirms plans to ban Iran-backed Hezbollah in its entirety

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed the banning of the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah in its entirety  – in a move immediately welcomed by Jewish communal leaders.

Announcing the move – first revealed by the JC on September 27 last year – Mr Javid said he had banned the “terrorist organisation” to protect the “safety and security” of the British people.

The Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council and  Labour Friends of Israel under chair Joan Ryan have long called for reconsideration of the UK’s position on the Lebanese-based political party and militia.

Since 2008, the UK has banned only Hezbollah’s so-called “armed wing”, leaving Islamists taking part in the annual Al Quds Day March in London to wave the group’s yellow flag and claim to be expressing support only for the terror group’s “political wing”.

The Home Secretary said: “My priority as Home Secretary is to protect the British people. As part of this, we identify and ban any terrorist organisation which threatens our safety and security, whatever their motivations or ideology which is why I am taking action against several organisations today.

Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilise 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.”

Today’s announcement – which also banned the terror group’s Ansaroul Islam and JNIM who operate in the Sahel region in Africa – is now subject to the approval of Parliament, which will vote on the Home Seceretary’s draft order on Friday.

The order states that  being a member of, or inviting support for, Hezbollah, Ansaroul Islam and JNIM will be a criminal offence, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Marie van der Zyl, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Jonathan Goldstein, Chair of the Jewish Leadership Council and David Delew, Chief Executive of the Community Security Trust, said in a joint statement: “We welcome the Home Secretary’s move to proscribe Hezbollah in full. The Jewish community, including our organisations and leading community newspapers, have long led the call for this ban.

“Hezbollah was responsible for the deaths of 85 people in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires and remains a threat to Jewish communities around the world, launching deadly attacks against civilians in Israel and Bulgaria and planning for attacks in other places such as Cyprus.

“The group’s genocidal intentions towards world Jewry were made clear in 1992 when they stated, “The war is on until Israel ceases to exist and the last Jew in the world has been eliminated”.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “We are staunch supporters of a stable and prosperous Lebanon. We cannot however be complacent when it comes to terrorism – it is clear the distinction between Hezbollah’s military and political wings does not exist, and by proscribing Hezbollah in all its forms, the government is sending a clear signal that its destabilising activities in the region are totally unacceptable and detrimental to the UK’s national security.

“This does not change our ongoing commitment to Lebanon, with whom we have a broad and strong relationship.

“All three groups have been assessed as being currently concerned in terrorism.”

A Home Office statement said the government had  taken the decision to proscribe Hezbollah in its entirety on the basis that it is no longer tenable to distinguish between the military and political wings of Hezbollah.

Hezbollah was established during the Lebanese civil war and is committed to armed resistance to the state of Israel.

Welcoming Monday’s announcement LFI chair Joan Ryan said: "The government’s decision to finally proscribe Hezbollah in its entirety is a huge victory for LFI's long-running campaign against this antisemitic terror group. With cross-party support, our MPs have led this fight in parliament over many years. This change of heart by the government is the right decision and sends a clear message that there will be no hiding place in Britain for antisemites who seek Israel’s destruction.”

The Iranian-backed group continues to amass weapons in direct contravention of UN Security Council Resolutions, putting the security of the region at risk. Its involvement in the Syrian war since 2012 continues to prolong the conflict and the regime’s brutal and violent repression of the Syrian people.

Ansaroul Islam seeks to impose its own strict Salafist Sharia law in northern Burkina Faso and are known to target other ethnic groups in the region leading to substantial internal displacement of people. In December 2016, the group claimed responsibility for an attack on an army outpost in Burkina Faso which killed at least 12 soldiers.