France to list Hezbollah armed-wing as terrorist organization - report

PanARMENIAN.Net - France is prepared to designate the armed-wing of Hezbollah a terrorist organization, The Jerusalme Post reported citing London-Based Arabic daily Al Hayat.

The European Union has been under pressure from the United States and Israel to blacklist the Shi'ite organization, a demand which has intensified since last month when Bulgaria implicated Hezbollah in the Burgas bus bombing, in which five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian bus driver were killed.

According to a French official quoted by Al Hayat, Paris's openness to label the armed-wing of Hezbollah a terror organization stems from its responsibility for the Burgas attack and its participation in Syria's civil war on the side of Presisdent Bashar Assad.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius discussed the matter with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, according to the report.

The source said the move is more symbolic than practical because it will not lead the EU to blacklist the "political branch" of Hezbollah, and therefore, will not stop the organization from receiving funds from Europe.