Refusing to be intimidated, Gulf states to impose sanctions against Hizbullah that will identify all branches of the group being labelled as a terrorist organization.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has announced plans to impose sanctions against Hizbullah that will see all arms of the group being labelled as a terrorist organization.
Hizbullah flag – AFP photo
The Saudi Arabian daily Al-Watan reported on Sunday that the GCC views Hizbullah as a monolithic organization and “does not differentiate between Hizbullah’s military and political wings.”
This is a direct reference to the European Union’s decision last week to place only Hizbullah’s military wing on the list of terrorist entities, leaving the political faction off the blacklist.
An unnamed source told Al-Watan that in light of the GCC’s decision not to separate Hizbullah into distinct parts, the GCC’s sanctions are slated to be “more comprehensive than the EU’s decision.”
The newspaper reported that lines of diplomatic communication took place “between the GCC and some European and international countries in a bid to clamp down on Hizbullah and its members.”
The GCC monarchies decided on June 10 to impose sanctions on Hizbullah, targeting residency permits and its financial and business activities in reprisal for the group’s armed intervention in Syria.
Hizbullah terrorists recently publicly led a 17-day assault on the Syrian town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border that ended up with its recapture from the rebels.
One of the Gulf states, Bahrain, recently became the first Arab country to blacklist Hizbullah as a terrorist organization and later banned opposition groups from having contact with the organization.
View original Arutz Sheva publication at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170364#.UfYYhW2rEYB
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