Australia designated Hezbollah as terrorist organization
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Salma Hossein
- . November 25, 2021
- . Update: November 25, 2021 9:28 pm
Lebanon– Australia has included the Lebanese Islamic fundamentalist group Hezbollah and the neo-Nazi movement The Base among the terrorist organizations banned and prosecuted by law. The decision was announced this morning by Interior Minister Karen Andrews. Under the new definition, anyone who helps or promotes the two associations commits a crime under the anti-terrorism rules.
The Australian government had already included the military wing of Hezbollah in the list of terrorist organizations in 2003, now also included the political wing of Hezbollah party in this category. In addition, Australia affirmed that its militants “continue to threaten attacks and support Palestinian terrorist organizations such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas.” In doing so, Australia joins other Western countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which already considered Hezbollah in its entirety to be a terrorist organization.
While noting that the presence of Hezbollah supporters on Australian soil is minimal, a Labor opposition spokesman also supported the initiative. However, the government states that the inclusion of Hezbollah and a neo-Nazi group at the same time in the list of terrorist organizations is just a coincidence, dictated by reports on the activities of the two movements and not by political reasons.
In recent days, Britain has made a similar move by including the political arm of Hamas on the list of terrorist groups, in addition to the military arm of the Palestinian Islamic organization. Although they are one of the main political forces in their country, Hezbollah has long been accused of terrorist activities in Lebanon. In addition, with support for Islamic fundamentalist groups in the Palestinian Autonomous Territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip, where Israel says they have helped Hamas arm itself with rockets and explosives for attacks against Jewish people.
