Chairman Robert Wexler
Hearing of the Subcommittee on Europe
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
June 20, 2007
"Adding Hezbollah to the EU Terrorist List"
I would like to welcome everyone to this critical hearing on the issue of adding Hezbollah to the European Union (EU) terrorist list. I would also like to welcome our distinguished witnesses, Michael Jacobson, Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy; Alex Ritzmann, Senior Fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy; and James Phillips, Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
Since its inception, Hezbollah has led a global campaign of terror that has resulted in hundreds of senseless deaths beginning with the horrific 1983 bombings of the U.S. and French Army barracks in Beirut in which 241 American Marines and 58 French paratroopers were killed. More recently, Hezbollah attacked Israel in an unprovoked act of aggression across an internationally recognized border that resulted in war and further destabilized the Middle East. Today, Hezbollah continues to smuggle illicit weapons across the Lebanese border with Syria, and experts speculate it may be planning future terrorist attacks against Israel. In Lebanon, Hezbollah is working with Syria to destablize the government of Prime Minister Siniora, while at the same time, continuing to operate as a terrorist proxy on behalf of Iran.
While Hezbollah's belligerence continues unabated in the Middle East, it enjoys a large degree of operational freedom in Europe because it is not classified as a "terrorist organization" by the EU. Hezbollah has established a wide logistical support network in Europe, which allows it to fundraise under the auspices of charities and use the European banking system to transfer funds from Iran. Last year, the U.S. Department of Treasury took punitive measures against the Iranian Bank Saderat for transferring over $50 million in a period of five years to Hezbollah through the bank's London branch.
Hezbollah has clearly exploited its freedom to channel money through the UK, and has also established a presence in other EU Member states, including Germany and France. According to an annual intelligence report, German security services estimate that more than 900 "core activists" are in the country, regularly meeting in community centers and mosques. I encourage all EU Member States to conduct similar investigations concerning Hezbollah's presence in Europe so that they may better understand and target this disconcerting threat growing in their own backyard.
At a time when the United States and the European Union (EU) are working together to thwart Iran's nuclear development and punish the Iranian government for its brazen defiance of the UN, we must also work together to confront Iran's proxy organization - Hezbollah. The EU has placed the second-highest Hezbollah official on its terrorist list, and EU Member States have taken legal action against Hezbollah, including the German deportation of a Hezbollah agent and the French banning of Hezbollah television, al Manar.
I commend the Dutch government for its bold decision in 2004 to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist group with no distinction between its so-called military and political wings. I also want to recognize the European Parliament for passing a resolution in March 2005 by a vote of 473 to 8 distinguishing Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization" and calling on the EU Council to take "all needed measures to put an end to the terrorist activities of this group." This was followed by a Congressional resolution calling on the EU to add Hezbollah to its terrorist list that passed the House and the Senate with nearly unanimous support.
While the American and European legislative bodies have spoken, the strongest argument for adding Hezbollah has been made by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah himself. In an interview in March 2005 aired on al Manar, he stated that designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in Europe would mean "the sources of [our] funding will dry up and the sources of moral, political and material support will be destroyed." Hezbollah fears its designation as a terrorist group, and it defies logic that the EU would continue to omit it from its list.
Last year, High Representative Solana affirmed to the press that the EU did not have enough information to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. I hope this hearing will serve as a source of valuable information for officials in Brussels and all EU Member States, which can be drawn upon at the next meeting of the "Clearing House," the EU entity that designates terrorist groups. The designation of Hezbollah is long overdue, and I call on the EU to join the United States, Canada and the Netherlands in adding Hezbollah to its terrorist list.
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