Knesset factions condemn Gulf Arab states for blacklisting Hezbollah
Hadash and Balad slam the move to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
By JPOST.COM STAFFUpdated: MARCH 7, 2016 17:26Lebanon's Hezbollah scouts carry their parties flag while marching at the funeral of three Hezbollah fighters who were killed in Syria(photo credit: REUTERS)
Two of the factions making up the predominantly Arab Joint List party came out against the Gulf Arab states' decision last week to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization.The Balad faction, whose MKs recently were at the center of controversy for meeting with the families of Palestinians killed while perpetrating terror attacks against Israelis, said in a statement that "the GCC's (Gulf Cooperation Council) decision to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization pours oil on the sectarian conflict and worsens the ordeal the Islamic nation has been witnessing."Balad argued that "no criticism of Hezbollah's involvement in Syria justifies this dangerous decision, which serves Israel and her allies who do not hide their colonialist aspirations in Palestine, Lebanon and the rest of the Arabic homeland."Hadash, led by Joint List head Ayman Odeh, also condemned the decision, attacking Saudi Arabia for spearheading the effort to blacklist Hezbollah."After Saudi Arabia failed in its attempt to harness Lebanese society and political forces against Hezbollah by halting its military aid to Lebanon and after the Syrian people have succeeded in keeping Syria united, comes the decision to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization that proves that Gulf States are totally loyal to neo-colonialist and Zionist forces, the enemies of Arabs."The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council named Hezbollah a terrorist organization last Wednesday, opening up the possibility of further sanctions against the Iran-allied group that wields influence in Lebanon and fights in Syria.The Sunni dominated council – representing Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar – already imposed sanctions on the Shi’ite group in 2013 after it entered Syria’s war in support of President Bashar Assad.GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani said the council would now “take the necessary measures to implement its decision... based on anti-terrorism laws applied in the GCC and similar international laws.”Zayani did not specify what action might follow, but Saudi Arabia, the biggest power in the council, last week said it had blacklisted four companies and three Lebanese men for having links to Hezbollah.Zayani accused Hezbollah of committing “hostile acts” against GCC states, including recruiting young men to carry out “terrorist attacks, smuggling weapons and explosives, stirring up sedition and incitement to chaos and violence.”Reuters contributed to this report.