The government of Estonia has banned designated members of the Hezbollah movement from entering the country due to their support of terrorism and ensuing security threats, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said on Thursday
HELSINKI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2020) The government of Estonia has banned designated members of the Hezbollah movement from entering the country due to their support of terrorism and ensuing security threats, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said on Thursday.
The entry ban is part of sanctions imposed on Hezbollah under the International Sanctions Act of Estonia.
"Hezbollah poses a considerable threat to international - and thereby Estonian - security. With this step Estonia stands by the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Lithuania as well as other countries who have concluded that Hezbollah uses terrorist means and constitutes a threat to the security of many states," Reinsalu said, as quoted in a press release by the Estonian Foreign Ministry.
According to the press release, the prohibition on entry will apply to Hezbollah affiliates "about whom there is information or there are reasonable grounds to believe that their activity supports terrorism and who therefore pose a threat to the Estonian as well as international security."
Hezbollah emerged in the 1970s as a paramilitary and political organization originating in Lebanon's Shia population. The group initially aimed to end Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon but evolved into an authoritative movement. In 2018, it gained 13 out of 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament.
Hezbollah was designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom, among other countries, while several other countries designated only its military wing.�
