Europe’s listless pursuit of Hezbollah terrorists

From The Jerusalem Post (Benjamin Weinthal):

After murdering five Israelis and their Bulgarian bus driver in 2012, two Hezbollah operatives who were put on trial in absentia on Thursday at a Sofia court remain secure in Lebanon. The lethargy surrounding the efforts to capture the two mirrors the glacial-like pace of the trial. (...)

“Iran and Hezbollah were behind the Burgas bombing, just as they were responsible for the atrocities in Argentina. But in Europe, the fear of confronting both are daunting, as they have been for many years,” Prof. Gerald Steinberg, founder and president of NGO Monitor and lecturer in political science at Bar-Ilan University, told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday. (...)

In sharp contrast to the vigorous pursuit of jihadists who executed scores of people in Paris and Bremen, political inertia, wittingly or unwittingly, has taken over Europe’s desire to capture the Hezbollah operatives believed to be responsible for Burgas. (...)

“They [Bulgaria and EU authorities] should do more, but I am skeptical of their willingness and their capacity to do so,” said Bali, adding they can “use the decision [2013 EU terrorist listing] as a reason to act. If someone wants to make the life of terrorists difficult, they can.” 

Bali said the distinction of Hezbollah into political and military wings is bogus. Steinberg, on a similar note, said, “Instead of isolating Hezbollah, the EU maintains the fiction of a ‘military wing,’ which is classified as a terrorist organization, and a separate ‘political wing,’ which continues to raise funds and build terrorist infrastructure. This is absurd.

“And regarding the Iranian regime, European hopes for lucrative business contracts take precedence over the ‘moral principles’ that ostensibly guide foreign policy. Until these fictions are confronted, the victims of terrorism and their families, including from the Burgas attack, will not see justice done,” added Steinberg. 

The US Senate and Congress have passed resolutions this year calling on Europe to outlaw all of Hezbollah.   In a March speech at AIPA C’s policy conference, Democratic candidate for president Hillary Clinton said, “And we must work closely with Israel and other partners to cut off the flow of money and arms from Iran to Hezbollah. If the Arab League can designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, surely it is time for our friends in Europe and the rest of the international community to do so as well and to do that now.” (...)

To judge by the 2013 classification of Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist entity – and the role of the US government in twisting the EU’s arm – the Trump administration will be the decisive factor in pushing the EU to outlaw all of the Iranian-backed Shi’ite Lebanese militia within its territory.

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