Report: Lebanese Had Received Dozens of Warnings ahead of Their Deportation from UAE

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates took the decision to deport a number of Lebanese from the country due to the suspicious activity they were involved in, said the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah on Sunday.

Parliamentary sources from the March 14 camp told the daily that the authorities had issued dozens of warnings to the deported people over the years to cease their suspicious actions.

These warnings fell on deaf ears and the authorities had no choice but to deport them, they added.

The suspicious activity includes money transfers to Hizbullah under the guise of collecting donations to the party and money laundering.

Others were involved in political propaganda for the party and attempts to recruit new members to it, adding that some of the deported people are not Shiites, but offer cover for them.

Seventy Lebanese were deported from the UAE earlier this week over their links to the Shiite party.

The parliamentary sources added that the deportation measures only targeted these 70 people while there are thousands of Lebanese living in the UAE.

Meanwhile, Arab diplomatic sources to al-Seyassah that there are fears that other Gulf states would follow the example of the UAE and deport Lebanese families “linked to Hizbullah and Iran's expansionist ambitions in the region.”

The daily revealed that Lebanese authorities have held a series of “preemptive contacts” with Gulf countries to avoid deportations.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam had held talks with vice president of the UAE and Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum in Egypt on Saturday to discuss the deportation of 90 Lebanese from the country.

Sheikh Mohammed vowed to follow up the matter with his country's authorities, stressing that there is no official decision to target the Lebanese living in the UAE.

He pointed out that all measures taken against some Lebanese expats are merely linked to security concerns.

M.T.