Israel, Bahrain and UAE Will Join to Designate Hezbollah as a Terrorist Group

Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates will form a joint front to seek Hezbollah’s designation as a terrorist group, a senior Israeli official told Yisrael Hayom.

In an interview published on Thursday, Yehoshua Zarka, deputy director for strategic affairs at the Foreign Ministry, said the end goal was to have the U.N. mark the Shiite terror group as such.

“Joint action is planned to this end with certain capitals and international institutions,” he said.

Multiple states, including EU members, have designated the military arm of Hezbollah as a terrorist group while viewing its political wing as legitimate – an approach mocked by the group itself, which views the two components as inseparable.

“As a result, Hezbollah was still able to raise donations in many countries for what it claimed would be humanitarian, welfare and educational endeavors,” Zarka said.

“The donations make up 30% of the organization’s total budget, so this is a significant income,” he asserted.

He revealed that Israel’s approach to seeking Hezbollah bans has changed over time, with diplomats now asked to identify the appropriate tools for this in each state instead of coming out with a blanket strategy for all nations.

The official added that the deadly blast in the port of Beirut in early August, which Hezbollah was perceived by some to be involved with, also played a role in the change of the group’s international standing.