Germany’s Parliament prepares to discuss the threat posed by Hezbollah, upon a request by the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
The German Bundestag is scheduled on Thursday to debate a bill to outlaw Hezbollah from Germany with hopes to refer it to the government.
The bill asks the Berlin government not to distinguish between a legitimate, political wing of Hezbollah and a terrorist wing.
Germany and the EU divide Hezbollah into political and military wings. They already banned Hezbollah’s military wing in response to a 2012 Hezbollah terrorist attack in Bulgaria.
“Hezbollah poses a threat to Germany,” AfD deputies wrote in a statement to the Parliament.
As deputies discuss the proposal bill on Thursday, a 192-page intelligence report authored by the German intelligence agents revealed that the number of Hezbollah members and supporters has risen from 950 in 2017 to 1,050 in 2018.
The report, which covers 2018 and was released on May 22, 2019, said 150 Hezbollah operatives are situated in Lower Saxony.
According to the report, the model for Hezbollah is the Iranian regime’s revolutionary system and the “teaching of the Iranian revolutionary leader Khomeini.”
During his visit to Berlin last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel that he wishes Germany would “follow Britain’s example” and outlaw the terrorist group.
In late February, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid said that due to Hezbollah’s “attempts to destabilize the fragile situation in the Middle East,” London was “no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party.”
Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union Party and the Social Democratic Party are expected to oppose Thursday’s bill.
Washington constantly pressures Berlin to ban the Lebanese party in Germany.
Last Friday, Pompeo praised Germany’s decision to ban Iran’s Mahan Air from landing in German airports, however, the US official called on the Berlin government to take additional measures against the Lebanese party.
