Paraguayan President Mario Abdo. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Paraguay officially designated Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist groups on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the move.

“I welcome the decision of Paraguayan President Mario Abdo to define Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations. We are working so that more countries will also take this important step,” he said.

Similarly, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations applauded the move, saying that the action “represents another significant step in the ongoing fight against terrorism. In an historic step last month, the government of Argentina became the first South American country to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.”

“We hope to see more countries in the region and around the world follow these countries and stand up to these dangerous forces and recognize them for what they are – purveyors of terror and violence that impacts every country,” the group said.

Last month, Argentina became the first Latin American country to designate Hezbollah, which has been deemed responsible for bombings of the Israeli embassy and Jewish center in Buenos Aires in the 1990s, a terrorist organization.

Brazil has reportedly been mulling following Argentina’s lead.