Arab League Retracts... Zaki: Reservations on "Hezbollah" Remain

Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League, Hussam Zaki, retracted his statements in which he announced that the Arab League no longer classifies "Hezbollah" as a terrorist organization. He stated, "My previous comments regarding Hezbollah were misinterpreted." Zaki confirmed that "reservations regarding Hezbollah's behavior and policies still exist both internally and regionally," noting that "the League's decisions prevent providing any form of support to terrorists and terrorist entities." He emphasized that "the decision to refrain from supporting militias and armed groups is adopted unanimously by Arab states." For his part, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, affirmed that the General Secretariat "is always committed to the full implementation of member states' decisions on all issues." He added, "The assignment given to Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Hussam Zaki to visit Lebanon, as his personal envoy, to engage with Lebanese political forces, is an implementation of the League Council's decisions regarding solidarity with Lebanon and its assignment to the Secretary-General in this regard."