Deputy Foreign Minister's Strategy for Israel Today: "Our goal - to dismantle the civilian arm of the organization, which is used to raise funds for terrorism" • "There were countries that were afraid to join"
Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are expected to work together with countries around the world that have not yet defined Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
This is what the Deputy Foreign Minister for Strategic Affairs, Yehoshua (Yosh) Zarka, announces in an interview with Israel Today.
In recent months, a different perception has emerged and is being formed in relation to Hezbollah - countries that are changing their view regarding its status, from an organization whose civic activity is legitimate - to a terrorist organization.
Now, with the expansion of ties between Israel and the two Gulf principalities, joint activities are planned with the world's capitals and with international institutions in this regard.
In the last two years, the process began to progress and gained momentum when Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi instructed the ministry to coordinate efforts to achieve the goal.
In total, in the last two years, 14 countries have banned Hezbollah activities in their area, and half of them have made the decision in the past six months.
These include Germany, the United Kingdom, Kosovo, Latvia, Switzerland, Guatemala and the Czech Republic.
They joined the United States, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and other Gulf principalities, which many years ago defined Hezbollah as a terrorist organization with illegal activities in their territory.
"The explosion in Beirut helped"
In a rare interview, Zarqa reveals the behind-the-scenes process.
"Many years ago, many countries, including the European Union, outlawed Hezbollah's military arm. However, what is known as the 'civilian arm' remained legitimate. As a result, Hezbollah could raise donations in many countries for what it presented as charity, education and welfare activities. "Nasrallah does not exchange hats between the military and civilian arms. The donations make up 30 percent of the organization's total budget, so this is a significant income."
"At first we followed the king's path," Zarqa recalled. "Our diplomats around the world approached the foreign ministries in the countries where they serve, explained Hezbollah's true character as a non-segregated terrorist organization, and asked the State Department to outlaw the organization. "
The change began with semantics.
"Instead of coming up with the headline 'outlaw the organization', we changed the target. We instructed the missions to locate in each country the appropriate tool to make all of Hezbollah's activities banned. Foreign Minister Ashkenazi spoke personally with his counterparts, and this pushed the process. "
What does Israel gain from outlawing Hezbollah?
"Harming Hezbollah weakens Iran. Second, they will be prevented from raising donations and the image of Hezbollah will be harmed. We are focusing an effort on the EU because it will affect all its members. The goal is for the UN to define Hezbollah as a terrorist organization."