Hebrew newspaper unveils Israel plot to dismantle Hezbollah

Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom revealed on Thursday that Israel is working with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and other Gulf and Arab states, along with other countries, to designate the Lebanese Hezbollah a terrorist organisation.

According to the newspaper, many countries’ perception of Hezbollah has shifted from considering it a civil-political organisation to a terrorist group, noting that the expansion of Israel’s relations with the Gulf states prompted the planning of a joint demarche along with other capitals and international institutions.

Fourteen countries including Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Kosovo, Latvia and Guatemala have banned Hezbollah’s activities in the last two years, following a diplomatic process initiated by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

A senior official of the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that the aim is to dismantle the civilian-political wing of the organisation that is used in fundraising for terrorist acts.

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The official added that the campaign now focuses on the European Union countries that have attempted to ban the party’s military wing and not the civilian-political one, which Hezbollah exploited to hold charitable and educational activities with the aim of raising funds.

Official reports indicate that 30 per cent of Hezbollah’s budget is funded by donations.

According to the Israeli official, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi spoke with his counterparts in various countries to ban Hezbollah.

The source indicated that this operation would harm Hezbollah by preventing it from collecting donations, in addition to weakening Iran.