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B’nai B’rith International has issued the following statement:

B’nai B’rith International is disappointed to learn the European Union will not yet designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in the wake of the Bulgarian government’s findings that the group was behind the attack that killed six people, five Israelis and one Bulgarian, in the resort town of Burgas in July 2012.

In a press conference Thursday with Israeli President Shimon Peres, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barros said the EU does not have sufficient evidence of Hezbollah’s activities in Europe, but did not rule out taking action in a few months’ time. The Bulgarian government said it is still finalizing its investigation and according to reports is expected to formally ask the EU to place the group on its list of terrorist organizations next month.

By tabling this decision, the EU is sending the wrong message when the evidence is quite clear, and when in fact this attack occurred on European soil. Bulgaria spent six months investigating the suicide bombing, finding the names of the perpetrators, fake documents and a money trail leading back to Lebanon. Not designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization will only empower and embolden the group. We urge the EU to act quickly to cut off Hezbollah’s resources and to take the information provided in the Burgas report seriously.