Naharnet

Mansour Fears Hizbullah Blacklist to be Interpreted Differently by Each EU Country

Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour expressed concern on Wednesday that each European country might deal with the EU's decision over blacklisting Hizbullah as it sees fit and from it's own political view.

“This will have a negative impact on the visas and the transportation of people and financial transactions,” Mansour said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

European Union foreign ministers on Monday put the military wing of the Hizbullah on its list of terrorist organizations despite Lebanon warning against such a move.

Analysts voiced doubts about the effectiveness of the measure, questioning if Hizbullah really can be broken down into separate parts for punishment or reward.

Mansour wondered what are the standards that the EU countries adopted to differentiate between Hizbullah's military wing and political party.

Mansour expected that the decision will last for a long time “as long as the EU's policies are subordinate to the Israeli lobby... The decision came from Israel and not from Europe.”

“Netanyahu's statements came as a disgrace to the EU,” Mansour added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly praised on Monday the EU's decision, saying the party has imposed a "terrorist" rule on large parts of Lebanon.

Hizbullah "has imposed terrorist rule on wide sections of Lebanon, has converted them into an Iranian protectorate and is stockpiling tens of thousands of rockets there."

"These have been placed in the heart of civilian populations and are designed to be fired at population centers in Israel," he said.


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