Berri Accuses EU of Serving Israel in Decision on Hizbullah
Speaker Nabih Berri urged on Tuesday the European Union to retract its decision against Hizbullah, saying it underestimates justice and serves Israel.
“The EU should back off from its decision and the measures that without any doubt would target all the Lebanese and their interests in Europe,” Berri, who is also the head of the Amal movement that is allied with Hizbullah, said in a statement.
On Monday, 28 EU foreign ministers unanimously voted to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing.
Such a decision would “paralyze the European partnership … and cause more tension and instability in the fragile situation in Lebanon,” he warned.
The statement said that the move underestimates justice after judicial bodies failed to make outright accusations against any Hizbullah member.
Monday's EU decision came after some of its 28 foreign ministers overcame reservations in some member states that such a move would further destabilize Lebanon.
To do so, ministers agreed that EU political and economic links with Lebanon would be maintained.
They also highlighted the fact that it is the military wing alone that is blacklisted after Hizbullah was blamed for a deadly attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year.
The party was also accused in March of plotting attacks on Israelis in Cyprus after a criminal court found a Hizbullah member guilty of helping to plan the plot.
Both Bulgaria and Cyprus are EU members.
Berri accused the EU of bias towards Israel, of “providing it a free service” and “covering up” the crimes committed against Lebanon.
He also slammed the Jewish state for its continued violation of Lebanese sovereignty and of its occupation of Lebanese territories.
Amal's politburo also issued a statement condemning the decision, which it described as “racist.”
It said the move subjects the EU body to the “Israeli will and represents a type of mass punishment for Lebanon's resistance against the Israeli aggression.”
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