BEIRUT: Hezbollah won’t be intimidated by threats and cannot be isolated, said a senior Hezbollah official, ahead of a meeting Monday of EU foreign ministers over whether to blacklist the Lebanese resistance group.
“The resistance [Hezbollah] is greater than being isolated and stronger than being humiliated,” Sheikh Nabil Qaouk said during a funeral ceremony in the southern Lebanese village of Selaa.
Hezbollah “is more honorable than anyone offending its achievements and the dignity of its Mujahideen,” Qaouk added, in remarks published Monday on the National News Agency website.
Qaouk ignored what he called EU “threats and intimidation” against the resistance group, adding that Hezbollah “will not allow any U.S. tools in Lebanon to exploit its position.”
“We will remain firm, no matter how much they bet on strife or try to carry out attacks in [Beirut’s southern] suburbs and the Bekaa valley and other areas of Lebanon, “he vowed.
Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria has troubled Western powers who back rebels battling to overthrow President Bashar Assad.
EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels later today to decide whether to put Hezbollah on the list of terrorist groups.
"There are still some reservations ... but we are moving toward a decision on listing Hezbollah's military wing," a senior EU official said Friday.
Lebanon has warned that such a move could potentially destabilize the fragile country.
Meanwhile, caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said the EU was likely to blacklist Hezbollah.
“Difficulties still exist,” Mansour told the Voice of Lebanon radio station. “The European Union could not take a decision to put Hezbollah on the terrorist list.”
Yet, Mansour expressed concerns that under “strong pressure” exerted by some countries the EU could blacklist Hezbollah.
