BEIRUT (Dispatches) – The Lebanese president defended Hezbollah as necessary to resist the Zionist regime on Monday, after an Arab League statement accused the group of terrorism and noted it is part of Lebanon’s coalition government.
"Israeli targeting still continues and it is the right of the Lebanese to resist it and foil its plans by all available means,” President Michel Aoun’s office quoted him as saying in a Tweet.
The Lebanese government and Palestinian resistance forces strongly condemned the decision by the Arab League to designate the Hezbollah resistance movement as a terrorist organization.
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said in a statement that he had refused to list Hezbollah as a terror group as it was a "fundamental component of the Lebanese state.”
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmad Aboul Gheit announced at a media conference in Cairo that Arab states agreed to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization, adding that he would not "rule out going to the United Nations Security Council as a next step.”
Lebanon’s representative to the Arab League, Antoine Azzam, rejected the statement, saying Hezbollah represents a large part of the Lebanese people. He said the resistance group has representatives in the Lebanese parliament.
Lebanon abstained from Sunday’s communiqué that labeled Hezbollah as a terror group. Iraq also expressed reservations about the designation.
The details of the resolution were not made public. However, media reports said the only concrete measure from the meeting was for Arab telecommunications satellites to ban Iranian-financed stations for allegedly posing a threat to Arab security.
Palestinian resistance groups also denounced the Arab League’s decision, saying it serves the interests of Israel and the US and aims to satisfy the Saudi regime.
The alliance of the Palestinian resistance forces described the decision as "dangerous”, stressing that "Hezbollah represents the most important resistance force against Israel and terrorism.”

This file photo taken on October 12, 2016 shows members of Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah parading during Ashura commemorations in a southern Beirut suburb with Arabic writing in the background which reads: "Hezbollah are the winners".