‘True Friend’: Israel welcomes Czech parliament’s call to outlaw Hezbollah
Israel lauded the Czech Chamber of Deputies’ resolution passed on Tuesday night with a vast majority urging the government to declare all of Hezbollah, its political as well as its military wings, a terrorist organization.
The flag of the Hezbollah terrorist group, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as “Iran’s chief terrorist proxy” in his speech to Congress Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabi Ashkenazi stated on Wednesday that “the Czech Republic is a true friend of Israel” and thanked the members of the parliament for “this important decision, and hope that it will translate into additional steps.”
The Czech Parliament determined in its decision that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that undermines stability in the Middle East and poses a threat to democracies everywhere.
With this resolution, the Czech Republic joins the parliaments of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland who recently adopted decisions against Hezbollah.
The Czech resolution was adopted just days after the Estonian Government announced its decision to ban the entrance of Hezbollah operatives to its territory, and after the Guatemalan Government’s recognition of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been leading an interagency effort to increase international pressure on Hezbollah, and in the past year and a half 12 countries have joined the list of states that recognize Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in its entirety. Eight countries of the 12 did so in 2020.
Ashkenazi called on other countries and the European Union to “join the pressure campaign against Hezbollah, outlaw its activities, and recognize the organization and all of its wings as a terrorist organization.”
Some other countries, including the European Union, have banned Hezbollah military wing, but not its political wing, which is very powerful in Lebanon.
Israel, the Netherlands, the US, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Colombia, Honduras, Argentina, Paraguay, the United Kingdom, Estonia and Germany have banned Hezbollah completely.
