Binyamin Netanyahu
Binyamin NetanyahuFlash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday praised the countries that declared Hezbollah to be a terrorist organization, in the context of the regional anti-terrorism conference currently being held in the Colombian capital of Bogota.

In recent months, Prime Minister Netanyahu – together with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and additional elements – has led an effort vis-à-vis various countries in Latin America. The Prime Minister raised the issue in his meetings in recent months with many leaders. The Director of the National Security Council, the Foreign Ministry and the defense establishment also worked on the effort.

The countries acceding to the recognition of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization are Colombia and Honduras. This is in addition to Argentina and Paraguay, which have already done so.

In the context of the recognition, Colombia has adopted the full US terrorist list, which includes the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

"I commend the countries that today joined Israel and the US in our struggle against global terrorism. This is an important step. I call on additional countries to join this move," said Netanyahu.

Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz also congratulated the Honduran government on its decision, calling it "an important step in the global war on terror".

The Honduran government formally declared Hezbollah a terrorist organization earlier on Monday.

“We declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization and will include it in the registry of persons and institutions linked to acts of terrorism and its financing,” said Luis Suazo, Honduras’ deputy security minister.

Just last week, Britain's finance ministry added the entire Hezbollah organization to its list of terrorist groups subject to asset freezing.

The ministry previously only targeted the Lebanese Shiite organization's military wing but has now listed the whole group after the government designated it a terrorist organization last March.

In 2013, the European Union blacklisted Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization, while failing to blacklist the group’s political arm. Several EU members, however, blacklist the entire group as a terrorist organization.