The Arab League’s Assistant Secretary General Hossam Zaki triggered the ire of more than one Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country following his recent visit to Beirut, during which he declared, “The League no longer classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.”
However, the Arab League does not have any established or official list of terrorist groups which it can de-classify or not. Following the campaign of criticism that he faced, Zaki tried to make up for his declaration by explaining that his statement “does not mean in any way the disappearance of reservations and objections to Hezbollah’s behavior, policies, and actions.”
A clause in the Arab League’s resolution clearly states that member countries should “refrain from providing any form of explicit or implicit support to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts, including any militias or irregular armed groups.”
Nonetheless, and despite clarifications issued by the League’s Secretary General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab circles revealed that the latter will visit Lebanon soon to remove the confusion left behind by Zaki’s statement.
However, the Arab League does not have any established or official list of terrorist groups which it can de-classify or not. Following the campaign of criticism that he faced, Zaki tried to make up for his declaration by explaining that his statement “does not mean in any way the disappearance of reservations and objections to Hezbollah’s behavior, policies, and actions.”
A clause in the Arab League’s resolution clearly states that member countries should “refrain from providing any form of explicit or implicit support to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts, including any militias or irregular armed groups.”
Nonetheless, and despite clarifications issued by the League’s Secretary General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Arab circles revealed that the latter will visit Lebanon soon to remove the confusion left behind by Zaki’s statement.
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