Lapid welcomes UK move to ban Hezbollah under anti-terror laws

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid thanks the British government for moving to label Lebanon’s Hezbollah a terrorist organization, including its political wing.

In a tweet, Lapid extends his “appreciation to the UK, which is joining the US, Canada and the Netherlands in recognizing Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. I am confident the final approval from the British parliament will not be far behind.”

Iran-backed Hezbollah made electoral gains in Lebanon last year and now has three ministers in government. The US and others accuse the group of destabilizing the region through military intervention in Syria on the side of President Bashar Assad’s government.

Britain’s Home Secretary Sajid Javid leaves after attending a cabinet meeting in Downing Street in London, September 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Earlier, British Home Secretary Sajid Javid said the government was “no longer able to distinguish” between the organization’s military and political wing, and accused the organization of destabilizing the fragile situation in the Middle East.

A draft order in the UK Parliament today will ban membership in Hezbollah, alongside Ansaroul Islam, which seeks to impose its strict view of Salafist Sharia law in Burkina Faso, and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin, which has similar aspirations in Africa’s Sahel region.

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