Israel designates Lashkar-e-Taiba as terrorist organisation
Fifteen years after the Mumbai attacks, while war rages in Gaza, Israel formally bans the Pakistan-based Islamist group responsible for the 2008 attacks that left 166 people dead, including some Jews. This move reflects increasingly close political relations with Modi's India. In June, China blocked a similar resolution at the UN.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – Fifteen years after the tragic attacks in Mumbai, while war against Hamas in Gaza rages, Israel has officially designated Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as a terrorist organisation.
Active in Kashmir, the Pakistan-based Islamist group was behind the attacks of 26 November 2008 that targeted 12 different locations in the heart of the Indian metropolis, including a Jewish centre, the local Chabad House. About 166 people died in the attacks, including two Israelis and four other Jews.
In a statement, the Israeli embassy said that every legal step was taken to declare Lashkar-e-Taiba a terrorist organisation, adding that the decision was made without any formal request from the Indian government.
“While Israel only lists terror organizations who are actively operating against it from within or around its borders, or in a similar manner to India – those globally recognized by UNSC or the US state department, the Israeli ministries of Defense and Foreign affairs have jointly worked in the last few months towards an expedited and extraordinary listing of the Lashkar-e-Taiba organization on this date, to highlight the importance of a Unified Global Front in combating terrorism,” the statement reads.
The decision is clearly political. In recent years, a rapprochement has taken place between Israel and India under Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sealed by important economic and military cooperation agreements.
In recent weeks, India has taken a very cautious attitude towards the ongoing conflict in Gaza despite its historical closeness to the Palestinian cause.
But tensions are growing with the country’s Muslim community who are calling on the Indian government to take a stronger stance against Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
The Israeli decision comes after China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution last June to add a Lashkar-e-Taiba leader, Sajid Mir, to the global terror list. He is deemed to be the mastermind of the Mumbai massacres.
The proposal was submitted by India and the United States to the UN Security Council's al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
Had Mir been designated as a global terrorist, he would have been subject to an asset freeze, a travel ban, and an arms embargo.
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25/06/2012
