Honduras moves closer to Trump by declaring Hezbollah a terrorist organisation

"We declare Hezbollah a terrorist organisation and will include it in the registry of persons and institutions linked to acts of terrorism and its financing," Luis Suazo, Honduras' deputy security minister said on Monday.

The move against the Lebanese Shia group was warmly welcomed by the US.

"We applaud the announcements of Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala to designate #Iran-backed #Hizballah a terrorist organisation," tweeted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"It and other transnational terrorist groups remain active in the region. The US continues to rally international support to counter these threats," he added.

Israel's foreign minister called the Honduran government's move, hailing it as "an important step in the global war on terror".

An important step in the global war on terror - Israeli foreign minister

Israel Katz said the move follows similar actions taken in recent months by the UK, Argentina, and others.

On Friday, the UK's finance added Lebanon's entire Hezbollah movement to its list of terrorist groups subject to asset freezing. 

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

The change requires any individual or institution in the UK with accounts or financial services connected to Hezbollah to suspend them or face prosecution.  

This comes days after Tegucigalpa announced it would move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez said on Friday that his government would transfer its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem once the latter opens an embassy in Tegucigalpa.

Right-wing leader Hernandez announced the embassy move in August and a month later opened a commercial office in Jerusalem as an extension to Honduras' Tel Aviv-based embassy.

Israel is currently represented in Honduras by its Guatemala embassy.

Traditionally, most diplomatic missions in Israel have been in Tel Aviv as countries maintained a neutral stance over the status of Jerusalem.

Two State Solution 'dead'

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

It considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see the eastern sector as the capital of their future state.

Most countries have their embassies in the coastal city of Tel Aviv. 

In December 2017, US President Donald Trump broke with a decades-long consensus that the city's status should be decided in peace negotiations between the two sides.

His recognition of the city as Israel's capital and subsequent embassy move in May 2018 sparked outrage amongst Palestinians and across the world.

The move to recognise Israel as Jerusalem's capital is seen as destroying any prospect of a Palestinian state and Two State Solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

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