“The Case against Hizbollah one party, one flag, one ideology”

Introduction

CST has long pressed for Hizbollah to be fully banned in Britain. We have joined our Jewish communal partner groups in raising the issue repeatedly at meetings with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and with successive Prime Ministers, as well as with politicians and civil servants. CST strongly believes that Hizbollah’s long documented record of global anti-Jewish and anti-Israel terrorism means that it must be totally outlawed. Specifically, this requires the removal of the current artificial legal distinction between the group’s so-called ‘military’ and ‘political’ wings. The ‘military wing’ is banned in the United Kingdom and the European Union, but the ‘political wing’ is allowed to operate. This is despite Hizbollah itself denying that any such distinction exists. Supporters of Hizbollah in the UK exploit this by claiming that their Hizbollah flags are being flown in support of the ‘political wing’, despite the actual flag prominently displaying an assault rifle at its centre and being used by Hizbollah fighters in Lebanon and Syria. Britain has suffered too much from terrorism for Hizbollah to continue in this semi-legal status, with its supporters free to wave its militaristic flag, complete with assault rifle, on British streets. This Research Briefing is a comprehensive explanation of why Hizbollah is indivisible and why it should be fully proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000.