Netherlands: no distinction between Hezbollah political and terror branches
By Matthew Levitt
The Netherlands just issued the English version of its 2004 annual report on intelligence, a copy of which may be found here.
Note what the report has to say about Hezbollah:
"Investigations have shown that Hezbollah’s terrorist wing, the Hezbollah External Security Organisation, has been directly and indirectly involved in terrorist acts. It can also be concluded that Hezbollah’s political and terrorist wings are controlled by one co-ordinating council. This means that there is indeed a link between these parts of the organisation. The Netherlands has changed its policy and no longer makes a distinction between the political and terrorist Hezbollah branches. The Netherlands informed the relevant EU bodies of its findings."
The Dutch findings are particularly revealing in light of the appointment last month of Hezbollah member Muhammad Fneish as Minister of Energy and Water in the new Lebanese government. For more on Fneish's appointment and Hezbollah activities in Lebanon, see "The New Lebanon: Democratic Reform and State Sponsorship"
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