Germany and France have joined the movement to brand Hezbollah’s military wing a terrorist organization. The decision may signal a more direct step by Europe to influence the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Hezbollah, meaning “Party of God,” has built a reputation of violence, participating in bombings, kidnappings and other terrorist activities targeting Westerners and Israelis. It has been blamed for terrorist attacks from Argentina in 1992, to Bulgaria in 2012. The organization has taken the lives of hundreds of civilians and has perpetuated the spread of terrorism around the world.

Despite the obvious ties that Hezbollah has to attacks in the Middle East and abroad, many have refused to label it as a terrorist organization. To date, the European Union has refused to label Hezbollah as such. However, two nations within the EU have recently flip-flopped on this policy: Germany and France. While now supporting the idea of branding Hezbollah as terrorists, both have expressed their reasons as to why they have not supported the move in the past.

One key reason voiced by both nations was the threat of retaliation against French and German forces in the Middle East. German ships patrol the coast of Lebanon, preventing illegal arms shipments from arriving on Lebanese soil; France has 900 troops stationed within Lebanon as part of the UN’s peacekeeping operations, many of whom are in southern Lebanon where Hezbollah maintains a strong presence. Both France and Germany have a vested interest in protecting their troops and peacekeepers abroad that are stationed in and around terrorist hotspots such as southern Lebanon. It is interesting to note that both France and Germany are now apparently willing to take the risk of exposing their troops to attack in order to limit the power and influence of Hezbollah.

There are other factors at play behind this recent shift in policy. Europe has in the past stressed that it does not want to incite instability within Lebanon by labeling Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Since Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati resigned in March, the country has seen more and more sectarian clashes. The ongoing conflict in Syria has also spilled over to affect its coastal neighbor, Lebanon. The Lebanese city of Tripoli has already seen gun battles erupt between Sunni rebels and pro-Assad forces.

If Germany was holding off on branding Hezbollah a terrorist group because of fear of causing instability, it stands to reason that this excuse is no longer valid. Lebanon is feeling the effects of the ongoing turmoil in Syria and will likely become more involved as Hezbollah starts to take on a more direct role in fighting the rebels, who have already started directing more attacks against Lebanese targets. Branding Hezbollah as a terrorist organization won’t make Lebanon any less stable, it will just attach a proper title to the actions that Hezbollah has already been carrying out.

Another reason for the change in policy may actually have less to do with the current situation in Lebanon and Syria as it does the security of Europe.

Europe has recently witnessed two incidents of terrorism perpetrated by Hezbollah. In Cyprus on July 7, 2012, a Hezbollah operative was captured plotting terrorist attacks on holidaying Jews.

On July 18, 2012, a bomb exploded on a bus in Bulgaria, killing five Israelis and the bus driver. The findings by Bulgarian officials suggest the attack was orchestrated by Hezbollah forces. Today, German and French officials are saying that in light of these events, they are now going to promote the labeling of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

However, they are not seeking to label Hezbollah as a whole as a terrorist organization. They want to only brand the military wing as such. The political wing of Hezbollah would continue to operate free of any labeling. By seeking only to target the military wing, Europe would ensure it hinders Hezbollah’s international capabilities while not having to get directly involved in politics within Lebanon. It would mean certain sanctions would be brought against it such as travel bans, assets of group members being frozen, and other measures that would hamstring its operations.

The timing of France and Germany’s announcement—a complete flip-flop on their previous stance on Hezbollah—is not coincidental. It comes right at a time when Hezbollah has started taking on a more crucial role in the civil war in Syria. Syrian and Hezbollah forces mounted an assault on the town of Qusayr on May 19. The town is close to the Lebanese border and is a key city in the province of Homs. With support from Hezbollah, Syrian government forces are demonstrating how they can make headway into areas previously thought to be strong rebel positions. If such a trend continues, Assad’s forces might yet retake territory long held by rebels and drag out the conflict that has already cost 80,000 lives.

The EU is no friend of President Assad, and recent victories by Hezbollah in Syria may have Europeans wondering if the rebels face defeat. Such thoughts would be enough to prompt Europe to take a more direct role in aiding the rebels, such as crippling Hezbollah through sanctions. Taking more responsibility in Syria is already on the minds of many European powers, with talk of ending an arms embargo on the rebels.

So far, the U.S. has said it is unwilling to provide any military aid to the rebel forces. Europe—primarily Germany and France—are now stepping up their own involvement to ensure that Assad’s government forces do not overcome the rebels.

Labeling Hezbollah as a terrorist organization would not just be a political statement; it would have practical implications. It would help protect Europe from terrorist attacks by preventing members of Hezbollah from traveling, hindering their ability to operate. It would also mean a freeze on assets, cutting much of the funding that would go to the terrorists that are currently fighting in Syria.

The Bible tells us exactly where the situation in the Middle East and Europe is leading. Daniel 11:40 speaks of a king of the north and a king of the south clashing with each other. We know the king of the north is a European power, as explained in our booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. The king of the south is a group of Islamic nations led by Iran, as shown in the booklet The King of the South.

What we are seeing play out in Lebanon and Syria is just a small part of the giant clash that is about to take place between these two powers. Prophecy also shows that ultimately Syria and Lebanon will ally with the king of the north. This indicates they will not be allied with Iran for much longer.

Watch as Europe continues to monitor and influence activity in Lebanon and Syria, because soon it will be taking a much more direct approach to the Middle East (Daniel 11:40).