UK to outlaw Hezbollah, including political wing, as well as JNIM and Ansar ul Islam; Javid: Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilize the fragile situation in the Middle East…

The United Kingdom announced it will officially label Hezbollah as a terror organization.Britain will recognize the entirety of Hezbollah, including its political wing, as a terror organization and will begin taking measures to ban Hezbollah in the United Kingdom. Alongside Hezbollah, both the Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) and Ansar ul Islam will also be outlawed.

UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced the official ban of Hezbollah, stating, “My priority as Home Secretary is to protect the British people. As part of this, we identify and ban any terrorist organization which threatens our safety and security, whatever their motivations or ideology which is why I am taking action against several organizations today. Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilize the fragile situation in the Middle East, and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Kahn condemned Hezbollah’s anti-Semitism expressed during annual Al Quds Day demonstrations in London, while also welcoming Javid’s decision. He took to Twitter on Monday, stating “Anti-Semitism and hate crime has no place in our city. I’ve raised my deep concerns about the support shown for Hezbollah at the annual Al Quds march in London on a number of occasions – and the fact the Home Secretary has finally listened and is taking action is welcome.”

Al Quds is an international day created by Iran’s Supreme Ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to protest Israel’s “occupation” of the Palestinians and is often used to incite violence and anti-Israel demonstrations.

The UK labeled Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization in 2008 following attacks on British forces in Iraq. The EU followed in 2013, however, only labeling Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization.

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