Germany's governing parties are calling for a ban of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, saying it should be put on the EU terrorist list.
Mathias Middelberg, spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in Parliament, said a joint resolution with the junior coalition Social Democrats would be introduced for debate on Thursday.
“It is unacceptable that Hezbollah is waging a terrorist fight against Israel in the Middle East, which is being financed through worldwide criminal activities, among other things,” Mr Middelberg said.
“In view of Germany's special responsibility toward Israel, we call on the government to ban all activities for Hezbollah in Germany.”
The EU lists Iran-backed Hezbollah's military wing as a banned terrorist group, but not its political wing, which has been part of Lebanese governments in recent years.
“The separation between a political and a military arm should be abandoned, and Hezbollah as a whole should be placed on the EU terrorist list,” Mr Middelberg said.
“This could freeze Hezbollah's funds and assets in Europe more extensively than before.”
It was not immediately clear whether the resolution would prompt the government to pursue a full ban, but with the governing parties and most opposition on board, such action seemed likely.
The German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, acknowledged that with Hezbollah's ties to Lebanese government “the political reality in Lebanon is complex".
“This should not prevent us from exhausting the legal possibilities in Germany to tackle Hezbollah's criminal and terrorist activities,” Mr Maas said.
“Hezbollah denies Israel's right to exist, threatens violence and terror, and continues to massively increase its arsenal of missiles."
Hezbollah was part of caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri's unity Cabinet, which resigned on October 29 after mass anti-government protests amid a worsening economic crisis.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
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Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
Mobile phone packages comparison
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Anti-semitic attacks
The annual report by the Community Security Trust, which advises the Jewish community on security , warned on Thursday that anti-Semitic incidents in Britain had reached a record high.
It found there had been 2,255 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2021, a rise of 34 per cent from the previous year.
The report detailed the convictions of a number of people for anti-Semitic crimes, including one man who was jailed for setting up a neo-Nazi group which had encouraged “the eradication of Jewish people” and another who had posted anti-Semitic homemade videos on social media.
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
