HEZBOLLAH is to be subject to a blanket ban under anti-terror laws, Sajid Javid has announced.

The Lebanon-based group's military wing is already outlawed but the proscription will now be extended to its political arm.

If approved by Parliament, the step will bring Britain into line with several countries, including the US, which regard the whole of Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

From Friday, membership will be a criminal offence carrying a maximum sentence of up to 10 years.

Read more: Jihadi bride Shamima Begum has UK citizenship revoked

“Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilise the fragile situation in the Middle East and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party,” declared the Home Secretary.

"Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety."

Until now, UK governments have resisted proscribing the organisation in its entirety on the basis that it provides social and political functions in Lebanon and has formed part of the country's government.

But MPs and Jewish groups argue that it is a single entity and have called on ministers to close the loophole, which allows Hezbollah's flag to be flown legally on Britain's streets during marches.

Hezbollah - or the Party of God - is a Shia Muslim movement which emerged during the early 1980s with financial backing from Iran.

In 2001, ministers banned its external security organisation. Seven years later, the proscription was extended to Hezbollah's military wing.

A listing in the official register of banned groups says Hezbollah is "committed to armed resistance to the state of Israel, and aims to seize all Palestinian territories and Jerusalem from Israel", adding: "Its military wing supports terrorism in Iraq and the Palestinian territories."

Confirming the latest move, Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary, explained: "We are staunch supporters of a stable and prosperous Lebanon.

"We cannot, however, be complacent when it comes to terrorism; it is clear the distinction between Hezbollah's military and political wings does not exist and, by proscribing Hezbollah in all its forms, the Government is sending a clear signal that its destabilising activities in the region are totally unacceptable and detrimental to the UK's national security.

"This does not change our ongoing commitment to Lebanon, with whom we have a broad and strong relationship."

Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, said the move to ban Hezbollah's political wing was "long overdue".

He said: "I have been clear that anti-Semitism and hate crime has no place whatsoever in our city or in our society.

"I wrote to both the previous Home Secretary Amber Rudd and current Home Secretary Sajid Javid to raise my deep concerns about the support shown for Hezbollah at the annual Al Quds march in London."

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation if he believes it is "concerned in terrorism".

As a result, being a member of or inviting support for the group is illegal.

It is also an offence to wear clothing or carry or display an article in public "in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion" that an individual is a member or supporter of the proscribed organisation.

Anyone convicted of such an offence could face up to six months in prison.

Mr Javid is also seeking the proscription of two other groups, Ansaroul Islam and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin (JNIM).

The Home Office said: "Ansaroul Islam seeks to impose its own strict Salafist Sharia law in northern Burkina Faso and are known to target other ethnic groups in the region leading to substantial internal displacement of people.

"JNIM was established in March 2017 as a federation of al Qaeda-aligned groups in Mali and aims to impose a strict Salafist interpretation of Sharia law in the Sahel region and has claimed responsibility for several attacks in the region in which people were killed."

Mr Javid said protecting British people was his priority.

"As part of this, we identify and ban any terrorist organisation which threatens our safety and security, whatever their motivations or ideology which is why I am taking action against several organisations today," he added.</s>Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

The large British broadsheet The Sunday Telegraph reported on Saturday that the United Kingdom's home secretary plans to outlaw all of Hezbollah's organization this week.



According to The Telegraph report by the paper's Sunday political editor Edward Malnick, "Sajid Javid is preparing to ban Hizbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, as soon as this week."

The article said "The Home Secretary [Sajid Javid] is expected to proscribe the entire Shia organisation as a terrorist group, preventing supporters from parading its flag through the streets of Britain. The move will have to be approved by Parliament, raising the prospect that it could be opposed by Jeremy Corbyn, who once referred to members of the group as 'friends."'The United Kingdom and the European Union merely classify Hezbollah's so-called military wing a terrorist entity. Hezbollah political members operate in the United Kingdom and appear at the annual al-Quds day rally in London with Hezbollah flags that promotes the destruction of the Jewish state.The Telegraph noted that "It follows warnings by MPs that the UK had created a false distinction by proscribing the military wing of the group but failing to outlaw its political side."According to the article, an MP well-versed with Javid’s plan to ban Hezbollah said: "It has been worked on for some time and is now imminent - and long overdue.It was a curious anomaly not to proscribe Hezbollah's political wing as well given that such a range of other countries had made a similar decision. In the current climate, it is a really strong signal that we won’t tolerate celebrations of terrorism and antisemitism on the streets of the UK."The Jerusalem Post reported on articles in the London-based Jewish Chronicle in June and September of 2018 that said Javid was slated to outlaw all of Hezbollah but the reports did not materialize. Britain banned Hezbollah’s military wing in 2008 because the Lebanese militia attacked UK soldiers in Iraq. However, the United Kingdom allows Hezbollah’s political wing to operate.The United States, Canada, the Arab League, the Netherlands and Israel consider Hezbollah to be a unified terrorist entity without separate military and political wings.The European Union designated Hezbollah's military wing a terrorist organization in 2013 due to Hezbollah's role in blowing up an Israeli tour bus in Bulgaria that resulted in deaths of five Israelis and their Bulgarian muslim bus driver. An additional 32 Israelis were injured in the terrorist attack. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has steadfastly refused to out-law all of Hezbollah. German intelligence agencies say there are 950 Hezbollah members in the federal republic who raise funds and recruit new members. Hezbollah members across Germany raise funds, recruit new members and spread antisemitism, according to 2018 German intelligence reports reviewed by the Post.The US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell told The Washington Examiner in December that “We have made it clear that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and asked all allies to consider the same designation.”A specialized Bulgarian court for terrorism crimes is currently holding a trial in absentia for the two Hezbollah operatives who participated in blowing up the Israeli bus.The Hezbollah suspects Lebanese-Australian Meliad Farah and Lebanese-Canadian Hassan El Hajj Hassan have fled to Lebanon. The Lebanese authorities have refused to extradite the men to Bulgaria. Interpol has issued arrest warrants for the two men.

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>></s>The Iran-sponsored Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah will this week be banned from the UK in its entirety, under a plan by Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, Home Secretary Mr. Javid believes the ban is “long overdue.” He first mooted the possibility of the ban last June, as Breitbart News reported.

Subject to Parliament’s approval, from Friday when the order comes into effect, being a member, or inviting support for Hezbollah will be a criminal offence, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

My priority as Home Secretary is to protect the British people. As part of this, we identify and ban any terrorist organisation which threatens our safety and security, whatever their motivations or ideology which is why I am taking action against several organisations today. Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilase the fragile situation in the Middle East – and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety.

Hezbollah is an illegal, anti-Semitic group, designated as a terror organization in its entirety by the Arab League, Bahrain, Canada, France, Israel, Australia, the Netherlands, and the United States.

But the European Union, as well as the United Kingdom, maintain a difference between the group’s military and political wings, seeking only to proscribe the former.

This loophole in British law has allowed participants in the annual Al-Quds Day march through central London to wave the Hezbollah flag unchallenged, featuring an assault rifle.

The Telegraph noted that Mr. Javid’s plan, “…follows warnings by MPs that the UK had created a false distinction by proscribing the military wing of the group but failing to outlaw its political side.”

According to the article, an MP well-versed with the plan to ban Hezbollah said: “It has been worked on for some time and is now imminent – and long overdue. It was a curious anomaly not to proscribe Hezbollah’s political wing as well given that such a range of other countries had made a similar decision. In the current climate, it is a really strong signal that we won’t tolerate celebrations of terrorism and antisemitism on the streets of the UK.”

Members of Congress in the United States have urged the E.U. to designate all branches of Hezbollah as a terror group, after several Hezbollah parliamentarians in Lebanon were caught on camera calling for terror against Israelis.

There are currently 74 international terrorist organisations proscribed under the UK Terrorism Act 2000, alongside 14 organisations connected to Northern Ireland proscribed under separate legislation.</s>The UK is to ban Hezbollah’s political wing, the home secretary has announced, as he accused the Lebanese Islamist movement of destabilising the Middle East.

“We are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party,” Sajid Javid said. “Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety.”

The government said the organisation continued to amass weapons in contravention of UN security council resolutions, while its support for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, had prolonged “the conflict and the regime’s brutal and violent repression of the Syrian people”.

The ban criminalises membership or support of the group, placing its political members in the same category as people in its military wing, which was banned in 2008.

The move was welcomed by government officials in Israel, which has a decades-long history of conflict with Hezbollah, and comes against the backdrop of a push by the Trump administration to isolate Iran, which backs Hezbollah. Last week the US expressed concern about the group’s growing role in Lebanon’s government.

The ban requires endorsement by MPs, probably as early as Friday, potentially posing a dilemma for the Labour leadership, which has in the past advocated dialogue with Hezbollah’s political wing.

Hezbollah is a Shia militant movement established in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war. It was the most popular single political party in the country’s parliamentary elections in 2018, and subsequently negotiated three cabinet seats.

Jeremy Hunt, the British foreign secretary, said: “It is clear the distinction between Hezbollah’s military and political wings does not exist. This does not change our ongoing commitment to Lebanon, with whom we have a broad and strong relationship.”

The US, unlike the EU, has proscribed the political wing, and the UK decision may complicate UK diplomatic relations with Lebanon. Hezbollah does not specifically divide itself into armed and political wings and its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has said the group does not operate as two wings.

The decision was welcomed by Israel and UK-based Jewish groups including Labour Friends of Israel.

The Israeli security minister, Gilad Erdan, tweeted: “All who truly wish to combat terror must reject the fake distinction between ‘military’ & ‘political’ wings. Now is the time for the EU to follow suit!”

The decision was also welcomed by the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who said “antisemitism and hate crime have no place in our city” .

A recent Labour party internal briefing paper argued against proscription on the basis that there “is a balance between making absolutely clear our abhorrence of using violence to achieve political ends and at the same time encouraging organisations down an effective democratic path. Full proscription could be a move against dialogue and meaningful peace negotiations in Middle East.”

The UK has been a regular donor to the Lebanese government, primarily to help it finance refugee camps and jobs for the wave of refugees that have entered the country.</s>The UK is to ban Hezbollah in its entirety for threatening stability in the Middle East and posing a threat to Britain’s national security.

The proscription will make membership of the movement or inviting support for it a crime punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, ministers said on Monday.

Hezbollah’s military wing is currently banned in the UK — but the government said it is no longer possible to separate the political arm, which is based in Lebanon and supported by Iran, from the rest of the organization.

From Friday, the group will be banned in its entirety as a “terrorist organization,” following repeated calls from campaigners and outrage over the display of the Hezbollah flag, which features a Kalashnikov assault rifle, at demonstrations in London.

“We identify and ban any terrorist organization which threatens our safety and security, whatever their motivations or ideology which is why I am taking action against several organizations today,” Home Secretary Sajid Javid said.

“Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilize the fragile situation in the Middle East — and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety.”

The ban is subject to a vote in the UK Parliament this week.

Hezbollah’s External Security Organization and its military wing including the Jihad Council were proscribed by the UK in 2001 and 2008, respectively.

The Shiite militant movement was established in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war, and the group is now a major political party in Lebanon. Its capture in 2006 of two Israeli soldiers sparked Israel’s 2006 war with Lebanon, in which 1,200 people were killed.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in Monday’s statement that the move to blacklist Hezbollah did not change the UK’s commitment to Lebanon.

“We are staunch supporters of a stable and prosperous Lebanon. We cannot however be complacent when it comes to terrorism — it is clear the distinction between Hezbollah’s military and political wings does not exist, and by proscribing Hezbollah in all its forms, the government is sending a clear signal that its destabilising activities in the region are totally unacceptable and detrimental to the UK’s national security,” Hunt said.

“This does not change our ongoing commitment to Lebanon, with whom we have a broad and strong relationship.”

Matthew Levitt, an expert on Hezbollah and counter-terror at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said there are people in the UK affiliated with Hezbollah but who are not believed to be members of the military wings who could now be targeted by the authorities.

He said traditionally they were linked to the group’s Foreign Relations Department working as ambassadors, money raisers, or dealing with logistics. But as Hezbollah became more embroiled in the Syrian war, the group has increasingly relied on the FRD for operational purposes.

“Now anybody who is doing things on behalf of Hezbollah and certainly those affiliated with Hezbollah’s FRD would be well within the crosshairs of Hezbollah’s proscription,” Levitt said.

He added that even Hezbollah itself has said there is little differentiation between its political and military wings and that it is a unified organization dedicated to political violence.

The London-based Tony Blair Institute for Global Change said it welcomed the move by the UK but said more unified action is required against Hezbollah internationally.

Hezbollah, which is mainly financed by Iranian backers, is already considered a terror group by the US, Canada, Israel and the Arab League.

“Hezbollah remains one of the most capable terrorist organizations in the world,” said Azmina Siddique, a policy adviser at the institute.

“It has been responsible for countless terrorist attacks and it intends to continue expanding its reach.

“Iran funds Hezbollah by up to $200 million a year but financial pressure on Iran from the renewed US sanctions are likely to make Hezbollah ramp up its international funding activities including drugs trafficking and smuggling through the EU and the UK.”

Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of Cornerstone Global, a management consultancy focused on the Middle East, said the UK government was sending a message that it will not be “a safe haven” to terror groups.

“This shows that the UK government proactively updates its list of proscribed organizations, based on new evidence and new threats,” Nuseibeh told Arab News.

“It also shows that the UK government believes the interconnectedness of terrorist groups like Hezbollah, across the world, threatens UK security. The message that the UK government has is that groups that pose a terrorist threat in the Middle East are also a threat to the UK.”

Former Government minister Eric Pickles, now the UK’s Special Envoy for post-Holocaust issues, tweeted an image of the order proscribing Hezbollah. “No one in the UK with any sense of responsibility would call them our ‘friends’,” he added.

Israel welcomed the UK’s and called for the United Nations to follow suit.

The UK government is also banning Ansarul Islam, an extremist group which emerged near the border between Mali and Burkina Faso in 2016, and the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which has sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Britain currently has 74 international terrorist organizations proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000.</s>The United Kingdom has said it would ban Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, adding the group, including its political wing, to its list of banned "terrorist" organisations.

"Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilise the fragile situation in the Middle East - and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party," Home Secretary Sajid Javid said.

"Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety."</s>The ban is subject to a vote in parliament this week

LONDON, United Kingdom – Britain on Monday, February 25, said it will ban the political wing of Hezbollah, making membership of the movement or inviting support for it a crime.

The decision follows outrage over the display of the Hezbollah flag, which features a Kalashnikov assault rifle, at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London.

"Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilize the fragile situation in the Middle East," Home Secretary Sajid Javid said in a statement.

"We are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety," he said.

The ban is subject to a vote in parliament this week.

Hezbollah is a Shiite militant movement established in 1982 during the Lebanese civil war.

Its capture of two Israeli soldiers in 2006 sparked a 34-day war in which 1,200 people were killed.

The movement, now a major political party in Lebanon, holds 3 cabinet posts.

"It is clear the distinction between Hezbollah's military and political wings does not exist," Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in Monday's statement.

"This does not change our ongoing commitment to Lebanon, with whom we have a broad and strong relationship," he said.

The government is also banning Ansarul Islam, a jihadist group which emerged near the border between Mali and Burkina Faso in 2016, and the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which has sworn allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Britain currently has 74 international terrorist organizations proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000.</s>Britain’s opposition Labour Party questioned the country’s proscription of Lebanon’s Hezbollah as a terror group, suggesting it was driven by political motives.

Prior to Monday’s decision by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, the United Kingdom differentiated between Hezbollah’s political and military wings, with only the latter outlawed under British law.

Labour, whose leader Jeremy Corbyn once referred to Hezbollah as his “friends,” said Tuesday the Home Office had not provided evidence to justify its change in stance on the Iran-backed organization’s political wing.

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“Decisions on the proscription of organizations as terror groups are supposed to be made on the advice of civil servants based on clear evidence that those organizations fall foul of the proscription criteria set out in legislation,” Labour said in a statement.

“The Home Secretary must therefore now demonstrate that this decision was taken in an objective and impartial way, and driver by clear and new evidence, not by his leadership ambitions,” the party added.

Despite questioning the move, Labour said it would not work to oppose it, according to The Guardian.

At the same time, Corbyn issued a directive allowing MPs to skip the vote, according to the Jewish Chronicle.

The new designation was expected to be approved later Tuesday when the House of Commons votes on an amendment that also bans a pair of West African jihadist organizations as terror group.

The party’s response was condemned by Labour MP Wes Streeting, who told PoliticsHome he would support the ban “without hesitation or equivocation.”

“Given voters’ concerns about the instincts of the Labour leadership on security and defense this is a very poor judgement indeed,” he said.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May defended the proscription of Hezbollah’s political wing and said it was on Labour to explain its stance.

“In light of Hezbollah’s increasingly destabilizing behavior over recent years we believe it is right to proscribe the entire organization. Hezbollah itself has publicly denied a distinction between its military and political wings,” the spokesman said.

“The links between the senior leaders of Hezbollah’s political and military wings, as well as the group’s destabilising role in the region mean that the distinction between the two wings is now untenable,” he added.

The ban on Hezbollah came after the powerful Shiite group was included as part of Lebanon’s new government. While the cabinet is headed by Saad Hariri, a Western-backed Sunni politician who has held the job since 2016, Hezbollah made significant gains at the expense of the largest Sunni party and now controls three government ministries.

Hezbollah has a decades-long history of conflict with Israel, including the bloody Second Lebanon War in 2006, and its leader Hassan Nasrallah regularly threatens to target Israel with thousands of advanced missiles that can reach all major Israeli cities.

The UK’s ban on Hebzollah will outlaw the flying of its banners at events such as the annual Iranian-inspired Quds Day rallies in London.

Hezbollah was formed in 1982 under the guidance of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to combat Israel. It has been Iran’s most successful investment abroad, serving as the Islamic Republic’s arm at Israel’s doorstep.</s>The UK Parliament is set to pass new rules classifying Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

Parts of the Lebanese organisation have been proscribed since 2001, with its military wing banned since 2008.

UK authorities say they are no longer able to distinguish between the group's military and political wings.

The changes are expected to take force from Friday, after which supporting Hezbollah will be an offence carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Hezbollah - translated as the Party of God - is a Shia Islamist political, military and social organisation that wields considerable power in Lebanon.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he had decided to proscribe the group in its entirety because Hezbollah was "continuing in its attempts to destabilise the fragile situation in the Middle East".

The group, which is backed by Iran, has sent thousands of its fighters to Syria to support forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in battles against predominantly Sunni Muslim rebel forces and the jihadist Islamic State group.

Last month, Hezbollah was awarded three cabinet posts in the newly-formed Lebanese cabinet after it made gains, alongside its allies, in the 2018 parliamentary elections.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt echoed Mr Javid's comments, adding that the government could not be complacent about terrorism.

"It is clear the distinction between Hezbollah's military and political wings does not exist, and by proscribing Hezbollah in all its forms, the government is sending a clear signal that its destabilising activities in the region are totally unacceptable and detrimental to the UK's national security," he said.

Mr Javid's Israeli counterpart Gilad Erdan welcomed the decision on Twitter and called on the EU to follow suit.

Hezbollah was formed as a resistance movement during the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon in the early 1980s.

The militant group's capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border attack led to a month-long war with Israel in 2006.

In addition to Hezbollah, the draft order also proscribes Ansaroul Islam and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam Wal-Muslimin (JNIM) as terrorist organisations.

Ansaroul Islam and JNIM are militant Islamist groups active in West Africa - both have claimed responsibility for attacks in the region.

The order - which is expected to be approved by Parliament - will become active from Friday and will put Britain in line with other countries including the US.</s>Britain said on Monday that it plans to ban all wings of Hezbollah due to its “destabilizing influence” in the Middle East, classing the Lebanese Islamist movement as a terrorist organization. London had already proscribed Hezbollah’s external security unit and its military wing in 2001 and 2008 respectively, but now wants to outlaw its political arm too. “Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilize the fragile situation in the Middle East – and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party,” Home Secretary Sajid Javid said. Israel lauded Britain’s decision to ban Hezbollah and urged the EU to class the Shiite militia and political movement in its entirety as a terrorist organization, Reuters reports.
UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid announces plans to ban the political wing of the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah under counterterrorism legislation.