[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 164 (Wednesday, September 22, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6627-S6628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 377--URGING THE EUROPEAN UNION TO DESIGNATE HIZBALLAH 
              IN ITS ENTIRETY AS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION

  Ms. ROSEN (for herself and Mrs. Blackburn) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 377

       Whereas, in April 1983, a Hizballah terror attack against 
     the United States Embassy in Beirut killed 63 people;
       Whereas, in October 1983, a Hizballah terror attack against 
     the United States and French barracks of the Multinational 
     Force in Lebanon killed 241 American and 58 French soldiers;
       Whereas, in July 2012, a Hizballah terror attack, carried 
     out by an operative with French citizenship, in Burgas, 
     Bulgaria, killed 5 Israeli tourists and 1 Bulgarian;

[[Page S6628]]

       Whereas, in March 2013, a Swedish-Lebanese Hizballah 
     operative in Cyprus was convicted of planning terror attacks 
     against Israeli tourists;
       Whereas, in June 2015, a Hizballah operative was sentenced 
     to 6 years in prison after he stockpiled more than 8 tons of 
     ammonium nitrate in Cyprus;
       Whereas, in December 2015, the Hizballah International 
     Financing Prevention Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-102) was 
     signed into law in the United States, broadening financial 
     sector sanctions against Hizballah to compel foreign 
     financial institutions to refrain from supporting the 
     terrorist group;
       Whereas, in May 2018, the Department of the Treasury 
     imposed sanctions on Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, a Hizballah 
     financier, and blacklisted 5 of his companies, including 
     Belgian energy services conglomerate Global Trading Group;
       Whereas, in October 2018, French police raided the Islamic 
     Zahra Centre on suspicion of supporting Hizballah, freezing 
     the organization's funds, and seizing illegal weapons;
       Whereas, in September 2020, 4 former leaders of the Zahra 
     Centre were arrested on suspicion of continuing to run the 
     association;
       Whereas, in July 2019, the Department of the Treasury 
     listed 2 Hizballah-backed members of Lebanese Parliament, 
     Amin Sherri and Mohammad Raad, to the terror blacklist, 
     stating that Hizballah uses its parliamentary power to 
     advance its violent activities;
       Whereas, in April 2020, Germany investigated over 1,050 
     people with suspected links to Hizballah;
       Whereas Europol's June 2020 European Union Terrorism 
     Situation and Trend Report outlined that Hizballah is 
     ``suspected of trafficking diamonds and drugs and of money 
     laundering via the trade in second-hand cars'', and the 
     report also stated that ``investigations face the difficulty 
     of demonstrating that the funds collected are channeled to 
     the military wing of the organization'';
       Whereas United States-led Operations Cassandra and Cedar 
     exposed the criminal-business wing of Hizballah via the 
     External Security Organization Business Affairs Component 
     (BAC);
       Whereas, during Operation Cassandra, Hizballah elements 
     involved in drug trafficking were arrested in the United 
     States, South America, and several European countries, 
     including France, Belgium, Germany, and Italy;
       Whereas Hizballah's criminal activity in Europe is run by 
     the BAC, which reports to the External Security Organisation, 
     a.k.a. Unit 910, or the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO), and 
     Abdallah Safieddine, Hizballah's representative in Iran, is 
     also involved in this activity;
       Whereas, in August 2020, United Nations Secretary General 
     Guterres called on Lebanon to disarm Hizballah, citing the 
     terror group's persistent violation of Resolution 1701 
     (2006);
       Whereas Iran is the prime sponsor of Hizballah, harboring, 
     financing, training, and arming the group;
       Whereas the Department of the Treasury and Department of 
     State estimate that Iran provides as much as $700,000,000 per 
     year to Hizballah in the form of financial and logistical 
     support, weapons, and training;
       Whereas Hizballah now has an arsenal of approximately 
     150,000 missiles and rockets, many of which can reach deep 
     into Israel;
       Whereas Hizballah fighters have been supporting the Assad 
     regime in Syria, often leading operations in the conflict 
     which has left more than 500,000 dead;
       Whereas Hizballah's destabilizing actions in Syria has 
     fueled a migrant crisis that has brought over 700,000 
     refugees to Europe;
       Whereas Hizballah trains and provides weapons for Shiite 
     militias in Iraq and Yemen, further destabilizing the region 
     and perpetuating violence in those countries;
       Whereas Hizballah activities continue to plague Lebanon 
     with profound economic and political instability and 
     violence;
       Whereas, in August 2020, 200 Lebanese people died when a 
     massive stockpile of ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut's 
     port;
       Whereas the Lebanese Armed Forces, the legitimate security 
     establishment of the country as outlined in United Nations 
     Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006), are struggling to 
     control the flow of weapons and Hizballah fighters at 
     Lebanon's borders;
       Whereas, in October 2012, Hizballah Deputy Secretary 
     General Naim Qassem stated that ``[Hizballah does not] have a 
     military wing and a political one . . . Every element of 
     Hizballah, from commanders to members as well as our various 
     capabilities, are in the service of the resistance'';
       Whereas, as of September 2021, the United States, Germany, 
     the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, 
     Lithuania, Slovenia, Serbia, and Kosovo have designated 
     Hizballah in its entirety as a terror organization;
       Whereas, in March 2016, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the 
     bloc of 6 Gulf Arab nations, formally branded Hizballah, in 
     its entirety, a terrorist organization, and the League of 
     Arab States shortly thereafter adopted the same designation;
       Whereas the Department of the Treasury has diligently added 
     persons and entities to the list of Specially Designated 
     Global Terrorists who have provided material support to the 
     Hizballah terrorist organization, thereby hampering its 
     financing and logistical capabilities;
       Whereas the European Union, in July 2013, designated 
     Hizballah's so-called ``military wing'', but not the 
     organization as a whole, as a terrorist organization;
       Whereas, despite restrictions put on Hizballah since the 
     designation of its military wing, the group continues to 
     conduct illicit narcotrafficking, money laundering, and 
     weapons trafficking throughout Europe and the world;
       Whereas, in September 2021, the European Parliament passed 
     a resolution on the situation in Lebanon stating that 
     ``whereas Hezbollah has repeatedly shown its strong 
     ideological allegiance with Iran, which is destabilising the 
     Lebanese Government and undermining its much-needed 
     cohesion''; and
       Whereas the Senate has previously called on the European 
     Union to fully designate Hizballah as a terrorist 
     organization, agreeing to Senate Resolution 482 in July 2016: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) applauds and expresses support for the continued, 
     increased cooperation between the United States and the 
     European Union in thwarting Hizballah's criminal and 
     terrorist activities;
       (2) supports transcontinental efforts within Europe to 
     share intelligence information among police and security 
     services to facilitate greater cooperation in tracking, 
     apprehending, and prosecuting terrorists, foreign fighters, 
     and potential offenders;
       (3) encourages the European Union to implement sanctions 
     against Hizballah-affiliated terrorists in tandem with the 
     United States;
       (4) recommends greater civil society engagement in both the 
     United States and Europe to underscore Hizballah's malign 
     regional influence; and
       (5) urges the European Union to designate Hizballah in its 
     entirety as a terrorist organization and increase pressure on 
     the group, including through--
       (A) facilitating better cross-border cooperation between 
     European Union members in combating Hizballah;
       (B) issuing arrest warrants against members and active 
     supporters of Hizballah;
       (C) freezing Hizballah's assets in Europe, including those 
     masquerading as charities; and
       (D) prohibiting fundraising activities in support of 
     Hizballah.

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