US urges EU to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization

Bipartisan resolution would prevent Lebanon-based group from using European territories for fundraising, recruitment, training, and propaganda

WASHINGTON (JTA) – The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution urging the European Union and its member states to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization and impose sanctions on the group.

The bipartisan resolution, which passed Wednesday, would prevent Hezbollah from using EU territories for fundraising, recruitment, training and propaganda.

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) authored the resolution, which was co-sponsored by 85 representatives.

“Once called the ‘A Team of terrorists’ by a senior State Department official, Hezbollah has a well-documented and undeniable record of terrorist activity that demands recognition by the international community,” Kelly said on the House floor. “For decades, Hezbollah has committed murderous acts on Americans and our allies in both Europe and the Middle East.”

The United States has designated the Lebanon-based Islamist group as a terrorist organization since the late 1990s.

In 2006, Israel conducted a wide scale operation known as the Second Lebanon War against Hezbollah terrorists, after members of the group attacked a patrol on the Israel-Lebanon border and fired rockets on military outposts and border towns.