Proscribe Hizballah in its entirety under the Terrorism Act 2000

Supporters of Hizballah annually parade through London and are permitted to do so on the grounds that only Hizballah’s “military wing” is proscribed. Even Hizballah admits there is no “military wing”. We must stop these parades on our streets.

Britain proscribes Hizballah’s “military wing” but, at the behest of the Foreign Office, not its “political wing”. Hizballah mocks the distinction. For example in 2012 its Deputy Secretary-General said: “We don’t have a military wing and a political one”.

Hizballah seeks the extermination of Jews. For example in 2004 its Secretary-General said: “If Jews all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide. It has been responsible for terrorist attacks murdering Jews from Buenas Aires to Burgas, and has even been blamed for two bombings targeting Jews in London in 1994.

Legislation allows for a group to be proscribed in the UK only if the Secretary of State believes it is currently concerned in terrorism, within the meaning of the Terrorism Act 2000, and it must be proportionate.

Proscription means that an organisation is outlawed and is unable to operate in the UK. It is a criminal offence for a person to belong to a proscribed organisation, invite support for a proscribed organisation, arrange a meeting in support of a proscribed organisation, or wear clothing or carry articles in public, which arouse reasonable suspicion that an individual is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation. The penalties for proscription offences are a maximum of 10 years in prison and/or a fine.

Hizballah’s External Security Organisation (also known as the Military Wing) was proscribed by the UK Government in March 2001 and in 2008 the proscription was extended to Hizballah military apparatus including the Jihad Council. Whilst the UK proscribes Hizballah’s military wing, we do not proscribe the group in its entirety. Proscription is an important, but not the only, part of the Government’s strategy to disrupt the activities of terrorist groups and those who provide support to them.

Hizballah’s military wing is also designated in the UK under the Terrorist Asset-Freezing Act 2010. Therefore, funds or economic resources owned, held or controlled by Hizballah’s military wing in the UK can be frozen. In July 2012, following the Burgas bombing, the EU also designated Hizballah’s military wing as a terrorist organisation under the EU asset freeze regime.