Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Iain Wright (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 29 November 2005 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Middle East

Question: Will my right hon. Friend join me in condemning the actions of Hezbollah, which attacked the Sheba'a farms in northern Israel last week, precipitating some of the worst violence on the border since Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000? I welcome the fact that Hezbollah is on the UK's proscribed terrorist list, but it is not on the EU's list. In the remaining weeks of the British presidency of the EU, will my right hon. Friend work to rectify that?

Answer: I do, and I have, condemned the attack by Hezbollah on the Sheba'a farms. I just point out that the Sheba'a farms are in Syria. They are not in Israel; nor are they, as Hezbollah claims, in Lebanon. They are unquestionably in Syria. On the second point that my hon. Friend makes, we in the United Kingdom—I did this as Home Secretary—have proscribed, banned, the military wings of Hezbollah. We have not banned the whole organisation—the political wing. Discussions inside the EU continue about a wider ban, although I frankly do not anticipate that there will be any change on that by the end of our presidency.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 440 c127
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Armed conflict Proscribed organisations Terrorism Israel Middle East Hezbollah Peace negotiations EU external relations
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk