• On March 23, 2006, the American Treasury Department announced it was activating Executive Order 13224 against Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV and Radio Al-Nour , and against the Lebanese Media Group , the Lebanese parent company of Al-Manar TV and Al-Nour (For the full version of the announcement, see the Appendix .).

• Executive Order 13224 was signed by President Bush after September 11, 2001, and “ provides a means by which to disrupt the financial support network for terrorists and terrorist organizations by authorizing the U.S. government to designate and block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that commit, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism.” ¹ The Order includes an updated list of terrorist organizations and of individuals and bodies supporting terrorism. ² It gives the Treasury Department, through its law enforcement agencies, the legal tools to impede terrorist funding and to freeze in the United States the assets of the organizations and bodies appearing on the list. It can also be used to exert diplomatic pressure on other countries to convince them to adopt the list and to use it block the assets of those organizations and bodies.

• According to Stuart Levey, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Al-Manar TV and Radio Al-Nour are Hezbollah's media arms and support the organization's terrorist activity. “Any entity maintained by a terrorist group – whether masquerading as a charity, a business or a media outlet – is as culpable as the terrorist group itself,” he said. That is important as it means that in the eyes of the American government, in principle there is no significant difference between terrorist organizations (Hezbollah, for example, or Hamas) and the bodies and organizations belonging to their social, financial and communications infrastructures. ³

• The Treasury Department's announcement of the use of Executive Order 13224 against Al-Manar TV and Radio Al-Nour was accompanied by an “indictment” against them and against Hezbollah, which operates them (see Appendix). According to it, Hassan Nasrallah and Hezbollah's Executive Council manage and oversee the budgets of Al-Manar and Al-Nour; prominent Hezbollah activists are shareholders in the parent company; Al-Manar employs Hezbollah personnel, one of whom was involved in collecting intelligence information for the organization; and Al-Manar and Al-Nour are involved in raising funds and recruiting activists for Hezbollah. In addition, not only does Al-Manar support Hezbollah, it supports Palestinian terrorist organizations, whose names are on the American list of terrorist organizations, in various ways, including by transferring funds to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's “charitable society.”

• Lebanese and Syrian responses

  •  In response, ‘Abdallah Quseir, Al-Manar director, said that he and his group view the American decision as a blow aimed at a “professional and objective” media corporation. He claimed that the American decision was motivated by political issues influenced by the “Zionist lobby in the United States .” He added that Al-Manar TV could overcome decisions of that sort and continue broadcasting to the United States , Canada and the rest of the world (Reuters, March 24).

  

  •  The Syrian Press Union (controlled by the Syrian régime) issued an announcement expressing solidarity with Al-Manar TV. According to the announcement, the American government's decision to ban Al-Manar's broadcast is part of its policy to deny the freedom of express to all those who “refuse to surrender to the American-Zionist stick” (Syrian News Agency, March 26).

• The Treasury Department's action is another of the international community's steps taken to prevent Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV from broadcasting . As part of that activity, on December 14, 2004, the United States State Department included Al-Manar TV on its list of terrorist organizations; limitations were placed on Al-Manar TV broadcasts in France and other European countries and in South America . ⁴ However, while the French and European consideration was the anti-Semitic content of Al-Manar TV's programs, the main American consideration was that it was an integral part of Hezbollah , an organization designated as clearly terrorist, operating under Iranian aegis and, until September 11, responsible for more American deaths than any other terrorist organization.

Appendix

The American Treasury Department announcement, March 23, 2006

March 23, 2006 JS-4134 .S. Designates Al-Manar as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity Television Station is Arm of Hizballah Terrorist Network

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated pursuant to Executive Order 13224 al Manar, a satellite television operation owned or controlled by the Iran-funded Hizballah terrorist network.  Additionally designated today were al Nour Radio and the Lebanese Media Group, the parent company to both al Manar and al Nour Radio.

Al Manar and al Nour

Al Manar and al Nour are the media arms of the Hizballah terrorist network and have facilitated Hizballah's activities.

"Any entity maintained by a terrorist group – whether masquerading as a charity, a business, or a media outlet – is as culpable as the terrorist group itself," said Stuart Levey, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence .

Al Manar has employed multiple Hizballah members.  One al Manar employee engaged in pre-operational surveillance for Hizballah operations under cover of employment by al Manar.

Al Manar and al Nour have supported fundraising and recruitment efforts by Hizballah.  Al Manar raised funds for Hizballah through advertisements broadcast on the network and an accompanying website that requested donations for the terrorist organization.  As recently as late 2005, Hizballah-affiliated charities aired commercials on al Manar, providing contact information and bank account numbers for donations.  Moreover, Hizballah Secretary General Nasrallah publicized an invitation for all Lebanese citizens to volunteer for Hizballah military training on al Manar and al Nour.

In addition to supporting Hizballah, al Manar has also provided support to other designated Palestinian terrorist organizations, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, notably transferring tens of thousands of dollars for a PIJ-controlled charity.  PIJ is listed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Government, and is also named on the European Union's list of terrorist entities.

Hizballah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah, along with Hizballah's Executive Council, managed and oversaw the budgets of al Manar and al Nour.

The Lebanese Media Group

The Lebanese Media Group is the parent company of both al Manar and al Nour.  Prominent Hizballah members have been major shareholders of the Lebanese Media Group.

Background on Hizballah

Hizballah is a Lebanon-based terrorist group.  Until September 11, 2001, Hizballah was responsible for more American deaths than any other terrorist organization.   Hizballah is known or suspected to have been involved in numerous terrorist attacks throughout the world, including the suicide truck bombings of the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut in September 1984. Hizballah also executed the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome and assumed responsibility for the suicide bombing of the Israeli embassy in Argentina in 1992.  It also attacked the Israeli cultural center in Buenos Aires in 1994.

On January 25, 1995 , the Annex to Executive Order 12947 listed Hizballah as a Specially Designated Terrorist.  The Department of State designated Hizballah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997.  Additionally, on October 31, 2001, Hizballah was designated as a Specially Designated Global terrorist under Executive Order 13224.

Today's action prohibits transactions between U.S. persons and the designated entities and also freezes any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

The U.S. Department of State added al Manar to the Terrorism Exclusion List (TEL) in December 2004.  For more information on this action, please visit: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2004/40081.htm .

¹ From the State Department Website, http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2002/16181.htm .

² See http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/key-issues/protecting/charities_exec-orders.shtml and http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/programs .

³ That includes entities listed by Executive Order 13224 which are Hamas-affiliated funds and foundations operating in Europe .

⁴ For further information see our Special Bulletin “Further limitations on Al-Manar broadcasts: The Spanish government ordered the banning of Hezbollah TV station's broadcasts to Latin America via its satellite company, Hispasat,” at http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia//ENGLISH/MARKETING%20TERRORISM/PDF/JULY12_05.PDF .