By RNZ
New Zealand has designated the Iran-backed armed and political group Hezbollah as a terrorist entity.
Israel has been waging war on Hezbollah in its base in Lebanon for weeks, in an extension of the war in Gaza.
The Government has also slapped a similar designation on the Houthi movement known as Ansar Allah.
The Houthis in Yemen have been attacking shipping in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and the Attorney-General Judith Collins made the assessment.
“For any organisation [to be designated] ... we have to have evidence and we go through a number of tests under our legislation, that that organisation has knowingly undertaken terrorist activity,” Luxon said.
“It’s a standard process.”
The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa said the move was “wrong at every level” because the two groups were only trying to stop what was happening in Gaza.
It was “especially galling when the New Zealand Government, which has condemned every act of Palestinian resistance, has refused to condemn Israel for any of its shocking war crimes across the Middle East, it said.
It put out a media statement saying these designations would happen on Wednesday, before they were announced.
Luxon said this was an issue for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
“I know the CEO of the DPMC [Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet] will actually look into what has actually happened there” but it was “well in motion” and due to be announced today.
Two other groups had their terrorist designations continued on with: the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK, in Turkey, and the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab in Somalia.
The Government earlier this year designated the political wing of Hamas, based in Gaza, as a terrorist entity.
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