Arab League Labels Hizbullah 'Terrorist' amid Lebanon, Iraq Reservations
Arab League foreign ministers on Friday declared Hizbullah a "terrorist" group, days after Arab interior ministers and the Gulf Cooperation Council issued similar resolutions.
Nearly all members of the pan-Arab body supported the decision, but not Lebanon and Iraq which expressed "reservations", the bloc said in a statement read out at a news conference by Bahraini diplomat Wahid Mubarak Sayar.
Earlier in the day, the Saudi delegation briefly withdrew from discussions to protest against Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's refusal to label Hizbullah as terrorist.
“Hizbullah enjoys wide representation in Lebanon and it is a main component in the country,” Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil announced after the meeting in Cairo.
“We voiced reservations because the resolution was not in line with the Arab anti-terror treaty,” he added.
The minister also noted that Lebanon supported “the resolution on the situations in Syria because it came in line with the latest U.N. Security Council resolution.”
The Arab League's move follows a similar one by the Saudi-led GCC, which has designated Hizbullah as terrorist over alleged "terrorist acts and incitement in Syria, Yemen and in Iraq."
Hezbollah criticized the GCC resolution as "irresponsible and hostile."
Saudi Arabia has also accused Hizbullah of supporting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen -- against whom Riyadh has led a bombing campaign since March 2015. Hizbullah said the GCC decision "won't prevent us from condemning the crimes of Saudi Arabia in Yemen, the kingdom's financing and support of terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, or its collaboration with (Israel)."
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said that Riyadh had no right to collectively punish Lebanon after Riyadh announced last month that it was halting around $4 billion in military aid to the Lebanese army and security forces, and after it warned its citizens against traveling to Lebanon.
Iran -- Hizbullah's principal backer -- has warned that its Gulf Arab rivals were jeopardizing Lebanon's stability by blacklisting the group.
Saudi Arabia has linked its measures to Lebanon's refusal to join the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in condemning attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran last month, and alleged Hizbullah "terrorist acts against Arab and Muslim nations."
Y.R.
Source: Agence France Presse, Naharnet
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