Several major international airlines could face legal action for flying into Lebanon's international airport, which is notoriously controlled by Hezbollah.
The Shurat Hadin Israeli Law Center, which fights the financing of terrorist activity, has sent unprecedented cease and desist warnings to a host of international airlines and insurance companies demanding they halt all services to the Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut – or be implicated in allegedly aiding a terrorist group in the commission of war crimes.
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The letter was sent to 15 companies, including Air France, British Airways, Italy's Alitalia and Germany's Lufthansa, warning them that airport in the Lebanese capital has become a "hotbed" of Hezbollah activity and is also in the vicinity of known, extensive terrorist activity by the Iranian-backed Shiite terrorist group.
The letter warns that airlines operating routes to and from the airport not only endanger their passengers and crews, but knowingly provides Hezbollah with human shields, thus allegedly allowing terrorist activity takes place.
This, the legal watchdog group said, exposes the airlines and insurance companies to potential lawsuits and criminal charges for aiding Hezbollah.
Shurat Hadin founder Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, further warned the airlines that continued flights into Beirut's international airport constitutes "knowingly supplying Hezbollah with human shields" and therefore could constitution a war crime under international law.
"We are en route to halting all flights to Beirut and this will soon become a matter of fact," she told Israel Hayom.
"The purpose of this unprecedented move is to force the world to take action against Hezbollah's hold on the airport and the terrorist activity that is taking place in its vicinity," she explained.
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