Sputnik International The Australian Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence and Security earlier issued a recommendation to have the entire Hezbollah group designated as a terrorist organization. A decision on the matter has been kept pending since June.
The Australian government on Wednesday designated the entirety of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization over growing concerns that the group was providing support to other designated terrorist groups.
Announced by Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, the development is set to complicate any aid being dispatched to Lebanon, which has been facing severe political and economic hurdles over the last several months.
Addressing reporters, Andrews justified the government’s decision by indicating that the organization was offering support to at least two other designated terrorist groups – the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas’ Iss al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
