Hezbollah on Monday denounced the “hostile move” by the UK as “propaganda”, Lebanon's Arabic-language al-Akhbar newspaper reported, citing sources close to the movement.
The decision is not going to affect Hezbollah's ties with London as they have been strained for many years, the sources added.
UK Home Secretary (interior minister) Sajid Javid said on Monday that the government will designate the entire Hezbollah organization as a “terrorist” entity as of Friday subject to the approval of the parliament.
Javid, an extreme right-wing politician of Pakistani origin, said the UK government was no longer able to maintain a distinction between Hezbollah’s political and military activities and thus will include the group’s political unit in its blacklist.
“Hezbollah is continuing in its attempts to destabilize the fragile situation in the Middle East – and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already banned military wing and the political party,” said Javid, adding, “Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety,” he added in a statement.
Britain has become increasingly angered by Hezbollah’s role in an anti-militancy campaign in Syria, where London has for the past eight years supported terrorist groups opposed to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.