Britain’s House of Commons approved a proposal from Prime Minister Theresa May’s administration on Feb. 26 to ban Hezbollah. This, despite skepticism from the Labour Party.
The proposal, which was announced by Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Feb. 25, stated that anyone who supports Hezbollah — be it their political or military wing — will face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The Labour Party did not oppose the measure but did issue a statement saying that Javid needed to produce evidence that Hezbollah’s political and military wings are indistinguishable:
WOW! Labour reacts to Hezbollah ban: ‘@sajidjavid must show the decision was taken in impartial way ans driven by new evidence, not his leadership ambitions’
Hezbollah’s own leaders say the political and military wings are the same! What more evidence is needed?! pic.twitter.com/wGOIXXerMx— Justin Cohen (@CohenJust) February 26, 2019
Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn also told party members that they didn’t have to express support for the measure. At a 2009 parliamentary meeting, Corbyn called Hamas and Hezbollah “friends.” In 2016, Corbyn said he regretted using the term.
The proposed ban will now head to the House of Lords. If passed, the ban will then become law.
