Some 236 American members of Congress as well as European lawmakers called on the European Union to "designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization," news website Politico reported on Friday.
The call was made in a letter sent to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; Charles Michel, President of the Council; David Sassoli, President of EU Parliament; and Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs for the EU.
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The western lawmakers described the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group as the "Iranian regime's most deadly proxy," and said that "its violent and anti-Semitic ideology is poisoning the fabric of our pluralistic societies."
"Hezbollah, the Iranian regime's most deadly proxy, operates a global terror network that threatens not only its neighbors but also Western democracies. In Germany alone, Hezbollah has over 1,000 supporters. The group's violent and anti-Semitic ideology is poisoning the fabric of our pluralistic societies. This is most visibly the case through Hezbollah's annual 'Quds Day' marches where calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state echo the darkest chapters of European history," the letter said.
Hezbollah "holds Lebanon hostage to its Iranian revolutionary agenda" and "abuses its own civilian population as human shields," it continued. The terrorist organization is also "in violation of several UN Security Council resolutions" and is "assisting Shiite militias in Yemen and Iraq and possesses "some 150,000 missiles whose purpose is to target Israeli civilians."
The European Union has already designated Hezbollah's so-called military wing a terrorist organization, but the letter seeks to halt the group's political activities across the continent as well.
The Shiite organization has been designated as a terrorist group by several western countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Argentina, Paraguay and Israel, as well as Arab League member Bahrain. Some countries, such as Australia and France, only classify Hezbollah's military wing as such.
In late June, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers called on the EU to designate both the political and military wings as a terrorist group.
A former Lebanese minister said recently that all the militias in his country – first and foremost Hezbollah – should be dismantled based on the Lebanese constitution.
In April, Germany completely banned Hezbollah's activities on its territory – both its military and political activities – following prolonged deliberations.
At the time of the decision, German police forces conducted raids to detain suspected Hezbollah members. German intelligence services said they believed some 1,050 Hezbollah members operated on its soil.
Dozens of police and special forces stormed mosques and associations linked to Hezbollah in Bremen, Berlin, Dortmund and Muenster in the early hours of the morning of April 30.
Although Hezbollah has no official presence in Germany, security forces believed its members used the country as a safe haven and to raise funds, including through criminal activities.
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