Hezbollah
The administration told JNS that it is “acutely aware and sensitive to the need to put some parameters and monitoring of how those funds are expended and applied to disrupt activities that would fall into the category of threat and terrorism.”
The Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization’s operations in Europe include drug-trafficking, money-laundering, recruitment and fundraising, according to German security sources.
The German government intends to completely ban all Hezbollah activities in the country, including the flying of its flag.
Delivering aid to Lebanon now would signal that the Lebanese government can undermine U.S. interests and trample on rights of the Lebanese people with “total immunity,” says Lebanon expert Tony Badran.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres says peacekeepers can no longer carry out their mission • Warns of “growing danger by armed groups operating outside of the Lebanese government’s control.”
“I do not see signs of a civil war in Lebanon. Hezbollah is determined not to fall into strife that America wants,” says Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem.
“We fear significant civilian costs in Lebanon if Israel must act to defend its citizens because Hezbollah has positioned its massive arsenal in civilian areas—turning much of Lebanon’s population into human shields,” it read. “Hezbollah will bear the responsibility for that.”
They reportedly chanted: “The people want to bring down the regime.”
U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs David Schenker said “we have confidence in the Lebanese army, and we think they are important partners in the fight against Sunni jihadists.”
“There is no place on Twitter for illegal terrorist organizations and violent extremist groups,” says spokesperson • “Kudos to @Twitter,” tweets Israeli Defense Forces.
The U.S. State and U.S. Defense Departments have been for continuing the aid, while many in the White House have advocated for halting it.
The Lebanese Armed Forces, which received $100 million in 2018 from the United States, and Hezbollah have been known to cooperate.
