In the wake of a Bulgarian investigation of the bomb attack
that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian driver last year in
Burgas, both Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Administration of
US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that Hezbollah must be held to account. The EU also responded and
said it was committed to the fight against terror, "whoever stands
behind it."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu thanked
the Bulgarians for what he said was their solid and professional investigation.
Referring to the findings, which blamed
Hezbollah’s military wing for involvement, Netanyahu said “there is only
one Hezbollah, it is one organization with one leadership.”
Netanyahu said the findings are additional
proof of what Israel has long known, that Hezbollah and its Iranian
sponsors are waging a terrorist war that “crosses borders and
continents.” He said that attack in Bulgaria was just one of many that
Hezbollah and Iran have planned and carried out, including attacks in
Thailand, Kenya, Turkey, India, Azerbaijan, Cyprus and Georgia.
“The attack in Burgas was an attack on
European soil against an EU country,” Netanyahu said. “We hope the
Europeans will draw the necessary conclusions regarding the true nature
of Hezbollah.”
Israel, which has been pressing a
reluctant EU to place the group on its terror blacklist for nearly two
decades, hopes the attack in Burgas will now convince the Europeans of
the need to do so.
Echoing the Israeli response the Administration of US President Barack
Obama said that Hezbollah must be held to account for the
bomb attack and urged Europe and others to pursue an investigation into
the incident.
"We call on our European partners as well as other
members of the international community to take proactive action to
uncover Hezbollah's infrastructure and disrupt the group's financing
schemes and operational networks in order to prevent future attacks,"
said John Brennan, a top national security adviser to Obama.
"Bulgaria's
investigation exposes Hezbollah for what it is - a terrorist group that
is willing to recklessly attack innocent men, women, and children, and
that poses a real and growing threat not only to Europe, but to the rest
of the world," Brennan, Obama's nominee to head the CIA, said in a
statement.
"The United States will continue to provide the
Bulgarian Government assistance in bringing the perpetrators of this
heinous attack to justice," Brennan said.
The EU also reacted
swiftly to the outcome of the Bulgarian investigation.
Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief said, "The implications of the investigation need to be assessed seriously as
they relate to a terrorist attack on EU soil, which resulted in the
killing and injury of innocent civilians." Ashton added, "The terrorists who
planned and carried out the Burgas attack must be brought to justice.
Jpost.com staff contributed to this report