Letter by Chairman of FADC Chairman Avigdor Liberman to EU Foreign Minister Ashton

Published on: June 10, 2013

The following letter was sent by Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Avigdor Liberman to High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Baroness Catherine Ashton on the subject of the exclusion of Hezbollah from the European Union list of proscribed terrorist groups:

Jerusalem, June 9^th 2013

Baroness Catherine Ashton

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

 

Excellency,

Following the decision taken by the European Union on June 4^th, to currently exclude the terrorist organization Hezbollah from the EU list of proscribed terrorist groups, I wish to draw your attention to important facts regarding its urgent addition to this list.

The following are certain facts necessitating the inclusion of Hezbollah on the list of proscribed terrorist organizations. This will not only send a very strong message of “zero tolerance” for the activities of this organization, but moreover and perhaps most importantly, their addition to the list means that Hezbollah will not be able to raise funds and garner support in Europe. The current exclusion of an organization, which incites to and is actively involved in murder and hatred, on the list of terrorist organizations is a hypocrisy which cries out to the heavens. It begs the question as to what other requirements, beyond the facts that are well known, are necessary for Hezbollah’s inclusion. I will refer to only some of these facts:

1. On 5^th February 2013, the Bulgarian government issued a report in which it accused Hezbollah of responsibility for the terrorist attack in Burgas last summer. The report’s conclusions indicate that three people were involved in the terror attack. All of the suspects had fake American driver’s licenses and two of them held Australian and Canadian passports. The Bulgarian Interior Minister noted that: “There is data showing the financing and connection between Hezbollah and two of the suspects.” The full findings of the investigation were sent to member states of the European Union.
2. On March 21^st 2013, a court in Cyprus convicted Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, a Hezbollah operative, of preparing a terrorist attack against Israelis on the island, and subsequently sentenced him to four years imprisonment. The judgment indicated that the accused was a member of Hezbollah and accepted operational instructions from different Hezbollah agents. Yaacoub admitted during the investigation that Hezbollah is hierarchical with many branches, training its members in the use of weapons and managing its secret operatives, like an army. The Cypriot Court also decided that the activities of the defendant on behalf of Hezbollah were in order to execute a terrorist attack as part of a series of terrorist attacks or attempted attacks against Israelis, around the world, by Hezbollah and the Al Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, like the attack carried out by Hezbollah in Burgas.
3. The decision by the United Nations-appointed Special Tribunal for Lebanon that Hezbollah was behind the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In January 2011, a draft indictment was submitted in the case of the Hariri assassination to the International Court in The Hague. Arrest warrants were issued against four senior Hezbollah operatives, including the brother-in-law of arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyeh.
4. Every year the threat of Hezbollah to nations in Europe grows. Since the exposure in Valencia during 1989 of a Hezbollah terrorist cell and the arrest of its members, the organization’s power and status in Europe has grown. Germany is currently one of the main centers for Hezbollah fundraising activities, with authorities there alleging that a handful of its approximately 900 members in Germany use proceeds from selling drugs to help finance the terrorist organization.  In May 2008, German police recovered more than $13 million raised for Hezbollah, reportedly by selling cocaine throughout Europe. It also uses charitable organizations to fund its murderous activities.
5. In the Middle East, Hezbollah continues to play a dangerous role. The organization assists Syrian President Assad in the massacre of his people, assisted the Iranian regime suppress demonstrations between the years 2009-10 and is active in the Sinai Peninsula and Yemen. The Hariri assassination, along with its many other contrivances in the Middle East, led Bahrain and Egypt to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
6. Moreover, the proposal by certain countries to separate Hezbollah’s military wing and its political wing is pathetic and serves no basis in reality. Both the decisions on the execution of terrorist acts and political decisions, like for example, who will be on the list of candidates for the Lebanese parliament, arrive from the same source, the mass murderer, Hassan Nasrallah.
7. The decision made by the EU on the fourth of this month raises many questions. The most important of which is about the readiness of the EU to combat terrorism and how Israel can rely on European promises to guarantee its security.

In light of the above, I believe that there are many obvious reasons to include Hezbollah on the EU list of terrorist organizations and there remains no satisfactory explanation for not doing so. This is the duty of every state which truly wishes to fight terrorism that endangers Europe and the world. The exclusion of Hezbollah from the list of proscribed terrorist organizations is a capitulation to terrorism, with all that entails.

I would like to thank you for the frank and ongoing dialogue between us.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my deep consideration.

 

Sincerely,

 

Avigdor Liberman