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H. Res. 101
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
March 14, 2005.
Whereas Hezbollah is a Lebanon-based radical organization
with terrorist cells based in Europe, Africa, North Amer-
ica, South America, Asia, and elsewhere, receiving finan-
cial, training, weapons, and political and organizational
aid from Iran and Syria;
Whereas Hezbollah has led a 23-year global campaign of ter-
ror targeting American, German, French, British, Italian,
Israeli, Kuwaiti, Saudi Arabian, Argentinean, Thai,
Singaporean, and Russian civilians, among others;
Whereas former Director of Central Intelligence George
Tenet called Hezbollah ‘‘an organization with the capa-
bility and worldwide presence [equal to] al Queda, equal
if not far more [of a] capable organization . . . [t]hey’re
a notch above in many respects . . . which puts them in
a state sponsored category with a potential for lethality
that’s quite great’’;
Whereas Hezbollah has been suspected of numerous terrorist
acts against Americans, including the suicide truck bomb-
ing of the United States Embassy and Marine Barracks
in Beirut in October 1983 and the Embassy annex in
Beirut in September 1984;
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Whereas the French unit of the Multinational Force in Bei-
rut was also targeted in the October 1983 attack, in
which 241 United States Servicemembers and 58 French
paratroopers were killed;
Whereas Hezbollah has attacked Israeli and Jewish targets in
South America in the mid-1990s, including the Israeli
Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in March 1992 and
the AMIA Jewish Cultural Center in Buenos Aires in
July 1994;
Whereas Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for kidnappings
of United States and Israeli civilians and French, Brit-
ish, German, and Russian diplomats, among others;
Whereas even after Israel’s compliance with United Nations
Security Council Resolution 425 (1978) by withdrawing
from Lebanon, Hezbollah has continued to carry out at-
tacks against Israel and its citizens;
Whereas Hezbollah has expanded its operations in the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, providing training, financing and
weapons to Palestinian terrorist organizations on the Eu-
ropean Union terrorist list, including the Al Aqsa Mar-
tyrs Brigade, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine;
Whereas in 2004 Hezbollah instigated, financed, or played a
role in implementing a significant number of Palestinian
terrorist attacks against Israeli targets;
Whereas the European Union agreed by consensus to classify
Hamas as a terrorist organization for purposes of prohib-
iting funding from the European Union to Hamas;
Whereas the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty
Restoration Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–175) urges the
Government of Lebanon to assert the sovereignty of the
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Lebanese state over all of its territory and to evict all ter-
rorist and foreign forces from southern Lebanon, includ-
ing Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards;
Whereas, although the European Union has included Imad
Fayiz Mughniyah, a key operations and intelligence offi-
cer of Hezbollah, on its terrorist list, it has not included
his organization on the list;
Whereas the United States, Canada, and Australia have all
classified Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and the
United Kingdom has placed the Hezbollah External Secu-
rity Organization on its terrorist list;
Whereas leaders of Hezbollah have made statements denounc-
ing any distinction between its ‘‘political and military’’
operations, such as Hezbollah’s representative in the Leb-
anese Parliament, Mohammad Raad, who stated in 2001
that ‘‘Hezbollah is a military resistance party, and it is
our task to fight the occupation of our land. . . . There
is no separation between politics and resistance.’’;
Whereas in a book recently published by the deputy sec-
retary-general of Hezbollah, Sheikh Naim Qassem, enti-
tled ‘‘Hezbollah -- the Approach, the Experience, the Fu-
ture’’, Qassem writes ‘‘Hezbollah is a jihad organization
whose aim, first and foremost, is jihad against the Zion-
ist enemy, while the political, pure and sensible effort can
serve as a prop and a means of support for jihad’’;
Whereas United Nations Security Council resolution 1559
(2004), jointly sponsored by the United States and
France, calls upon all remaining foreign forces to with-
draw from Lebanon and for the disbanding and disar-
mament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias;
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Whereas in December 2004 the Department of State placed
Al-Manar, Hezbollah’s satellite television network, on the
Terrorist Exclusion List, and in December 2004 the
French Council of State banned the broadcasting of Al-
Manar in France
Whereas France, Germany, and Great Britain, with the sup-
port of the High Representative of the European Union,
have created a working group with Iran to discuss re-
gional security concerns, including the influence of terror
perpetuated by Hezbollah and other extremist organiza-
tions;
Whereas on March 10, 2005, the European Parliament voted
overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution that stated ‘‘Par-
liament considers that clear evidence exists of terrorist
activities on the part of Hezbollah and that the [EU]
Council should take all necessary steps to curtail them.’’;
and
Whereas cooperation between the United States and the Eu-
ropean Union regarding efforts to combat international
terrorism is essential to the promotion of global security
and peace: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) urges the European Union to classify Hezbollah
as a terrorist organization for purposes of prohibiting
funding from the European Union to Hezbollah and rec-
ognizing it as a threat to international security;
(2) condemns the continuous terrorist attacks per-
petrated by Hezbollah; and
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(3) condemns Hezbollah’s continuous support of
Palestinian terrorist organizations on the European
Union terrorist list, such as the Al Aqsa Martyrs Bri-
gade, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Attest:
Clerk.