The sanctions will entail restrictions of entry to anyone associated with the terrorist group.
By CODY LEVINE, LAHAV HARKOVA Hezbollah flag flutters in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam, near the border with Israel, Lebanon July 28, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/AZIZ TAHER)
Estonia announced that it would impose sanctions on the terrorist group Hezbollah on Thursday.Israel has asked its allies around the world to outlaw Hezbollah, and Estonia, a member of the UN Security Council, is the fifth EU-member state to take the step of banning Hezbollah in its entirety, following Germany and Lithuania this year. Other European states proscribing Hezbollah include the UK, Serbia and Kosovo. The EU claims that there is a division between the Lebanese Shi’ite terrorist organization’s political and military wings, banning only the latter, though Hezbollah itself does not recognize such a division.Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said “Hezbollah poses a considerable threat to international – and thereby Estonian – security. With this step, Estonia stands by the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Lithuania as well as other countries who have concluded that Hezbollah uses terrorist means and constitutes a threat to the security of many states.”The sanctions will entail restrictions of entry to anyone associated with the terrorist group, on the basis that there are reasonable grounds to believe that their activity supports terrorism, and pose a threat to Estonians as well as international security.The foreign minister plans to put together a detailed list of people affiliated with Hezbollah to be sanctioned, after the new policy comes into force on Thursday.Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said Estonia’s decision “is a clear message against terrorism and against Hezbollah’s actions that threaten world peace and undermine regional stability.”Ashkenazi called on other countries and the EU to add to the pressure on Hezbollah and outlaw the terrorist group in its entirety.
