London - The British government has added the military wing of the Lebanese political party Hezbollah to the list of banned terrorist organizations, the Home Office said Wednesday. Hezbollah's external security organization was already included on the list, drawn up under counter-terror legislation passed in 2000, but it has now been replaced by a ban on the party's entire military structure, state secretary Tony McNulty said.
Inclusion on the list - which features 45 international terror groups - makes it a criminal offence in Britain to be a member of that organization, or to raise funds or to encourage support for it.
McNulty said the ban does not apply to the political, social or humanitarian activities of Hezbollah.
"Hezbollah's military wing is providing active support to militants in Iraq who are responsible for attacks both on coalition forces and on Iraqi civilians, including providing training in the use of deadly roadside bombs," he said.
"Hezbollah's military wing also provides support to Palestinian terrorist groups in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad," McNulty noted.
"It is because of this support for terrorism in Iraq and Occupied Palestinian Territories that the Government has taken this action. Proscription of Hezbollah's military wing will not affect the legitimate political, social and humanitarian role Hezbollah plays in Lebanon, but it sends out a clear message that we condemn Hezbollah's violence and support for terrorism," he said.
