Posted on 06/29/2002 5:13:06 PM PDT by kattracks
BERLIN, June 29 (AFP) - Britain and Germany are pushing to have the Lebanese Shiite fundamentalist movement Hezbollah added to the European Union's list of groups considered as terrorist, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported in its Sunday edition.However, it said Sweden, France, Greece, Spain and Belgium are opposed to the idea, and all 15 EU nations would have to back such a move for it be approved.
Hezbollah spearheaded the fight against Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon, which led to a troop withdrawal in May 2000. It is included on a similar list of terrorist groups maintained by the US State Department, and Israel has asked that it be added to the EU list.
On June 17, the European Union added the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade to its blacklist, the first time the EU has branded as terrorist groups close to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
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