Germany’s parliament on Thursday will discuss blacklisting Hizbullah’s “political wing,” amid reports the group has upped its presence in the country.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party initiated the debate by introducing a non-binding resolution calling to “examine whether the conditions exist for a ban on Hizbullah as one organization, and, if necessary, to issue such a prohibition and implement it immediately.”
According to a recent German intelligence report, Hizbullah has some 1,050 operatives in Germany, an increase of nearly 20 percent since 2017.
Despite its involvement in the wars in Syria and Yemen, in addition to its presence in Iraq, various European countries continue to bifurcate the terrorist organization into legitimate civic and martial elements, thus enabling its supporters to raise funds on the continent and promote the ideology of the Lebanon-based Iranian proxy.
The Media Line discussed the issue with Dr. Esther Lopatin, Director of the Center for European Studies at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya and an expert in German politics.
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