Naharnet

Macron: We'll Continue to Distinguish between Hizbullah's Wings

France will continue to distinguish between Hizbullah's military and political wings, French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday, after Britain said it will outlaw the political wing.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Barham Saleh, Macron said Paris will still “communicate and exchange viewpoints with the political movement that is represented in parliament.”

“We will continue this differentiation,” the French president added, noting that “it is not up to France and other foreign forces to know which political forces represented in Lebanon's parliament will be good or not.”

“It is up to the Lebanese people to decide on this,” he said.

Earlier on Monday, Britain said it will ban the political wing of Hizbullah, making membership of the movement or inviting support for it a crime.

The European Union put the armed wing of Hizbullah on its terrorism blacklist in 2013, due to Hizbullah's alleged role in blowing up an Israeli tour bus in Bulgaria. But unlike the United States, the EU differentiates between the group's military and political wings.

Source: Naharnet


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