Fri 29 November 2019:
The spokesperson for the Interior Ministry has refuted media reports that Germany will ban the Lebanese movement Hezbollah in its entirety. Steve Alter announced on Twitter that “an alleged government decision on a ban on Hezbollah” could not be confirmed.
Yesterday German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel claimed it had “learned from government circles” that the Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Justice had reached an agreement in the previous week to designate the political wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation in line with the official position of the US, Israel and the Arab League.
Most EU member states, including Germany, thus far only consider Hezbollah’s military wing, the “Islamic Resistance” as a terrorist organisation on par with the PKK and Daesh. One such state is France which says it is important to distinguish between the political and military arms of the Lebanese Shia movement to help foster dialogue and diplomacy.
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