 |
The European Parliament building in Brussels.
|
|
|
BRUSSELS (EJP)---An international Jewish human rights and advocacy group has expressed outrage that leaders of the European Parliament held talks this week in Brussels with a delegation from the Lebanese parliament which included a representative from Hezbollah.
The European Parliament-Lebanon interparliamentary meeting took place on Wednesday at the European Parliament building in the presence of six Lebanese MPs representing both the majority and opposition. Among them was Ismail Succariyeh of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc which represents Hezbollah, the Shiite militia, in the Lebanese parliament.
The MPs reviewed the state of the EU-Lebanon association agreement, the situation in Lebanon and the regional context. The Lebanese delegation met with the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering.
In a reaction, B’nai B’rith International (BBI) recalled that the United States and some European countries have branded Hezbollah a terror organisation.
Adam Mouchtar, director of BBI’s EU affairs office, said: “It is inconceivable that the EU invited members of Hezbollah to the European Parliament. Doing so gives legitimacy to a group that is committed to the destruction of the State of Israel, spreads anti-Semitic lies and is still one of the greatest terrorist threats in Europe.”
“B’nai B’rith strongly believes that the European Parliament should have refrained from meeting with any group that included members of an organization responsible for acts of terror across Europe and around the world. By doing so, the European Parliament has provided Hezbollah with an air of legitimacy no terrorist organization ever deserves.”
Earlier this month, a group of MEP’s from across the political spectrum launched a campaign calling on EU governments to list Hezbollah as a terrorist group.