Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ambassador Hossam Zaki, announced that the Arab League does not maintain any lists classifying organizations as terrorists.
In a recent press statement, he highlighted that the designation of the Lebanese Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization," which began in 2016, was dropped at the 2023 Jeddah Arab Summit due to several regional developments.
Ambassador Zaki's remarks were made in response to reports by Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese media following his recent visit to Lebanon as an envoy of the Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
During his statement, Ambassador Zaki noted that the recent Bahrain Summit also saw significant changes. Two previously established committees, the "Committee on Iranian Interventions in the Internal Affairs of Arab States" and the "Committee on Turkish Interventions in the Internal Affairs of Arab States," were replaced by a new "Committee on Foreign Interventions in the Internal Affairs of Arab States."
He explained that no decision was made regarding Iranian interventions at the Bahrain Summit, leading to the removal of the previous designations and decisions, among other issues.
Ambassador Zaki stated, "During my recent visit to Lebanon as the personal envoy of the Arab League Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, I informed the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc of this clarification. We explained that the previous designation had hindered the Arab League's Secretary-General and the Secretariat from engaging with Hezbollah."
He continued, "However, a new reality now allows the Arab League, within its mandate to follow up on resolutions related to Lebanon, to engage with Hezbollah officials at the parliamentary bloc level to discuss the current situation."
Zaki pointed out that Arab League resolutions concerning Lebanon require the Secretary-General to communicate with political forces. He emphasized that removing the "terrorist" designation associated with Hezbollah would enable the Arab League to communicate more effectively with Hezbollah as a parliamentary bloc represented in the Lebanese Parliament.
Regarding the presidential vacancy in Lebanon, Ambassador Zaki highlighted that developments in this matter are progressing at an unsatisfactory pace for those closely monitoring the situation.
He stated, "During our visit to Lebanon, we spoke with many Lebanese citizens, and the prevailing opinion is that the absence of a President is linked to the limited powers of the government, the erosion of state institutions, and the gradual disappearance of the state's role, which impacts everything in the country."
It is worth noting that Ambassador Hossam Zaki, Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League, visited Lebanon last week as a personal envoy of Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
He met with various Lebanese leaders and political forces, focusing on the presidential vacancy and solidarity with Lebanon in the face of Israeli escalations in southern Lebanon.
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