Australia’s government on Wednesday designated Hezbollah in its entirety a terrorist organization. Until now, the country has outlawed only Hezbollah’s overseas terrorism apparatus.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry praised the move, saying in a statement that it would “give Australian law-enforcement agencies many additional effective tools to combat the organization’s activities in Australia.”
According to the ministry, the decision comes following an international Israeli campaign to constrict “Hezbollah’s space to operate in the international arena.”
“Australia’s decision joins similar decisions by 17 other nations in the last two years, who understand there are no separate ‘wings’ in a terrorist organization,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
“This is also true of the Hezbollah terrorist organization. It is one body and distinctions between its arms are artificial,” he said. “I call on additional countries and the European Union to join this pressure on Hezbollah, to outlaw its activities and to recognize the entirety of the organization as a terrorist organization.”
