EU Places Hezbollah on Terror List

The European Union placed Hezbollah’s military wing on its terror list on Monday. Hezbollah is a Shiite militant group and political party in Lebanon. Moving Hezbollah to the terror list marks a major policy change.

The action came after prolonged diplomatic pressure from the United States, the Netherlands and Israel. These three nations have long classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

The EU blacklisting involves freezing Hezbollah’s assets. It also paves the way for possible travel bans against members of its military wing.

The decision triggered concerns in Lebanon that EU funding for the country would be affected. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius assured that economic aid would continue unchanged.

[SOUNDBITE: William Hague, British foreign secretary]

“The United Kingdom welcomes this decision. This is something that we asked for, that we pressed other countries for, and that we proposed a couple of months ago. So I am very pleased that that has been agreed, that the EU has shown strong unity on that—it shows that there are consequences for violent action on European soil, that European countries will stand together, will use the powers that are available to them.”

Several EU nations have pointed to Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria as further reason for the change.

As Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria became public, Sunni-Shiite tensions in Lebanon spiked. Gun battles have erupted in several cities across Lebanon.

Many Lebanese Sunnis support the Sunni uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad. However, Shiites generally back Hezbollah and the regime in Damascus.

The EU made its decision only after ensuring that political channels would remain open with all players in Lebanon.

Hezbollah is heavily backed by Iran. Watch for tensions to escalate between the German-led European Union and Iranian-led Islamic nations. For more, read The King of the South.