Earlier this week, a site run by the terrorist group Hezbollah in Beirut was attacked by what some people suspect was an Israeli drone. That attack, according to The Times, targeted machinery used to mix high-grade propellant for precision missiles.
The Times reported, “Western intelligence sources said a storage facility near the building contained a high-end ‘industrial planetary mixer,’ a machine that is necessary to mix solid-fuel propellants specifically for high-grade precision missiles … The high-end ‘industrial planetary mixer’ said to have been targeted is a vital component in the machinery used to build a precision guided missile, which requires solid fuel. The item is thought to be manufactured in Iran.”
After the attack, Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, ranted, “I say to the Israeli army along the border, from tonight be ready and wait for us. What happened yesterday will not pass. Do not live, do not rest, do not be reassured, and do not bet for a single moment that Hezbollah will allow aggression of this kind.” Hezbollah claims it has 100,000 missiles ready to strike Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded, “I heard what Nasrallah said. I suggest to Nasrallah to calm down. He knows well that Israel knows how to defend itself and to pay back its enemies.”
The United States and Israel are not alone in labeling Hezbollah a terrorist organization; the Arab League, Argentina, Australia, Canada, the European Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council the Netherlands and Paraguay agree. Despite the fact that German intelligence says the number of members and supporters of the terrorist group Hezbollah has increased in Germany, Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel has refused to name Hezbollah a terrorist group. A German Intelligence report stated, “Hezbollah denies the right of existence of the State of Israel and fights it with terrorist means. In Germany, the followers of Hezbollah maintain organizational and ideological and cohesion in local mosques associations that are financed primarily by donations. Hezbollah is against the idea of international understanding and the peaceful coexistence of peoples.”
In 1983, 241 U.S. service personnel, including 220 Marines, were murdered in a terrorist attack at a Marine compound in Beirut, the deadliest attack against American Marines since the battle over Iwo Jima near the end of World War II. As CNN reported, “The bombing was traced to Hezbollah.” In May 2003, a U.S. federal judge ruled that the terrorist group Hezbollah carried out the attack directed by the Iranian government.
The DOJ has noted:
Hezbollah is a Lebanon-based Shia Islamic organization with political, social, and terrorist components. … Since Hezbollah’s formation, the organization has been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks that have killed hundreds, including U.S. citizens and military personnel. In 1997, the U.S. Department of State designated Hezbollah a Foreign Terrorist Organization, pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and it remains so designated today. …
In 2010, State Department officials described Hezbollah as the most technically capable terrorist group in the world, and a continued security threat to the U.S. The Islamic Jihad Organization (“IJO”), which is also known as the External Security Organization and “910,” is a component of Hezbollah responsible for the planning and coordination of intelligence, counterintelligence, and terrorist activities on behalf of Hezbollah outside of Lebanon.