Engaging with Hezbollah: The Arab League's Complex Approach Despite Terrorism Allegations

Amid escalating military tensions in southern Lebanon, the Arab League has opened a new channel of communication with Hezbollah. This initiative aims to advance efforts towards a truce with “Israel” amid warnings of a potential large-scale war.

Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ambassador Hossam Zaki, visited Beirut at the end of June 2024 and met with Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah's Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc.

Initial Meeting

This meeting marked the first contact between the Arab League and Hezbollah in over ten years. In 2016, the League had designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization at the request of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar, which is close to Hezbollah, reported on June 28, 2024, that Zaki informed Hezbollah of the League's decision to lift the terrorist designation, acknowledging Hezbollah's significant role in Lebanon's future.

The newspaper also mentioned that Zaki urged for an expedited presidential election, noting the difficulty of electing any of the known candidates.

In a statement on June 29, 2024, to Egypt's al-Qahera News, Zaki confirmed a consensus among Arab League members to avoid using the term "terrorist" to describe Hezbollah, a term previously employed by the League for eight years.

Back in March 2016, Arab interior ministers and the Gulf Cooperation Council designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, though Lebanon and Iraq expressed reservations. At that time, Hezbollah was urged to cease spreading extremism and sectarianism, refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, and stop supporting “terrorism” in the region.

Hossam Zaki's comments were immediately interpreted as the Arab League removing Hezbollah from its terrorist list. This prompted the ambassador to issue further clarifications, addressing the controversy both within and outside Lebanon, particularly regarding the timing.

Zaki explained that his statements about the League ceasing to describe Hezbollah as a terrorist organization were "taken out of context." He clarified in a statement reported by Egypt's al-Ahram newspaper in early July 2024 that this did not mean the end of "numerous reservations and objections to Hezbollah's behavior, policies, actions, and positions, both domestically and regionally."

He referred to the Arab League's resolution on maintaining Arab national security and combating terrorism. Zaki's clarifications were seen as a step back from his previous remarks, indicating that the Arab League still considers Hezbollah within the context of its counterterrorism measures.

The resolution he referenced emphasizes "refraining from providing any explicit or implicit support to entities or individuals involved in terrorist activities, including any militias or non-state armed groups," noting this as a "decision adopted by unanimous member states."

Zaki's comments coincided with a statement from the Arab League's Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, on July 1, 2024, emphasizing that "the Secretariat General of the League is always committed to fully implementing the decisions of member states on all issues."

Aboul Gheit explained that Hossam Zaki's visit to Lebanon as his personal envoy was in line with the Arab League Council's resolutions on solidarity with Lebanon and mandated the Secretary-General to engage in this matter.

Hezbollah's involvement in the escalation along Lebanon's southern border with “Israel” since October 8, 2023, has raised the specter of a full-scale war. The Israeli army announced on June 19, 2024, its "approval" of operational plans for an attack in Lebanon, following a joint assessment by senior military officials in the northern command, accelerating preparations on the ground.

In contrast, significant political factions in Lebanon, with substantial parliamentary representation, accuse Hezbollah of unilaterally deciding on matters of war and peace and call for avoiding a "full-scale war" with “Israel.”

This escalation occurs amid Lebanon's presidential vacancy since the end of former President Michel Aoun's term in late October 2022, with the parliament failing 12 times to elect a new president due to Hezbollah's insistence on electing a "resistance-friendly" candidate, specifically Suleiman Frangieh, head of the Marada Movement.

Hezbollah was established in Lebanon in 1982 under the supervision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and has since been supported by Iran with weapons and funding, evolving into an independent entity. Currently, Hezbollah represents a significant extension of Iranian influence, with around 100,000 fighters, a number comparable to the Lebanese army.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah openly stated on June 24, 2016, that "the party's budget, salaries, expenses, food, drink, weapons, and rockets come from the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The U.S. and key European Union countries, including France, the Netherlands, and Germany, classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and ban it within their territories.

In response to the escalating situation in southern Lebanon, the Arab League has taken initial steps to open communication with Hezbollah. 

Gaza Scenario

This move aligns with the recent developments at the Arab summit in Bahrain in May 2024, where two existing committees, the committee on Iranian interventions in the internal affairs of Arab countries and the Arab ministerial committee in charge of following up on Turkish interventions in Arab internal affairs, were replaced by a new committee on foreign interventions in the Internal affairs of Arab countries.

Hossam Zaki explained to journalists covering the Arab League's activities on June 30, 2024, that during his recent visit to Lebanon, he clarified to Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, that the previous designation hindered the Secretary-General and the Secretariat General from engaging with Hezbollah. However, the new reality allows the Secretariat General to meet with Hezbollah officials at the parliamentary bloc level to discuss the current situation.

Zaki's visit to Lebanon aimed to address the escalation in southern Lebanon and the looming threat of a broader war. He emphasized breaking the stalemate of the presidential vacancy, which has persisted for over 19 months.

Zaki urged the Lebanese parties he met, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and Army Commander Joseph Aoun, to adhere to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, deeming it essential for containing the current escalation.

Adopted on August 11, 2006, Resolution 1701 called for a cessation of hostilities following a devastating 33-day war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. It also aimed to create a buffer zone free of armed personnel and military equipment, except for the Lebanese army and UNIFIL forces, between the Blue Line (Lebanon-”Israel” border) and the Litani River.

The implementation of Resolution 1701 faces challenges as a potential solution to end Hezbollah's skirmishes with “Israel.” Lebanese political analyst Assaad Bechara told Al-Estiklal that there is an "Arab attempt to prevent Lebanon from facing a Gaza-like scenario," referencing the ongoing destructive war in Gaza since October 7, 2023, following the Palestinian resistance's Operation al-Aqsa Flood.

Bechara added that this attempt necessitated direct communication between the Arab League and Hezbollah, facilitated through Hossam Zaki's visit. He noted that despite the Arab League's engagement with Hezbollah, the organization remains part of the destabilizing equation in Lebanon and several other Arab countries.

Bechara emphasized that the Arab stance towards Hezbollah will persist until the party changes its behavior, with the Arab League prioritizing efforts to prevent Lebanon from entering a war with “Israel.”

He believes that the Arab League's efforts will continue, but will require Arab-Arab consensus and greater coordination regarding the situation in Lebanon.

The Specter of War 

Many observers believe that Hezbollah has a long way to go before the Arab League decides to remove its classification as a terrorist organization.

At the top of those demands is its Iranian weapon, through which it governs Lebanon and dominates the political and security scene in the country, especially regarding war and intervention in the foreign affairs of some Arab countries.

Secondly, Arab parties rejected the continued presence of Hezbollah's military in neighboring Syria since 2012 when it intervened to support the forces of Bashar al-Assad's regime, under the orders of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, to suppress the revolution that erupted in March 2011. Today, it occupies areas in Syria after displacing its inhabitants.

The Coalition Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen has often called on the Lebanese Hezbollah to stop supporting the Houthi militia there.

The coalition, formerly led by Riyadh, has accused Hezbollah of attacking Saudi Arabia from Yemen.

It presented a video on December 27, 2021, showing an expert from Hezbollah training Houthis on how to booby-trap drones inside one of the headquarters at Sana'a International Airport. 

This came as intelligence obtained by the coalition from close circles around the Houthi leadership pyramid, according to the Saudi-led Coalition’s spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki.

However, Lebanese Hezbollah described on December 27, 2021, the accusation of assisting the Houthis in launching ballistic missiles and drones towards the Kingdom from Sana'a Airport as "trivial."

The Saudi Foreign Ministry often sees the problem in Lebanon as "the continued dominance of Hezbollah over its political system."

In this context, writer and political analyst Wael Najm believes that the Arab League's continued engagement with Hezbollah may reflect Saudi-Iranian and Egyptian-Iranian rapprochement.

Najm added to Al-Estiklal saying, "Perhaps it is a realization of the danger of the upcoming phase and the Arab countries' need to engage with Hezbollah, evidenced by Ambassador Zaki's visit to Lebanon and meeting with the party's representative."

“The Arab League's talk of removing Hezbollah from terrorism lists may be akin to bribery to stop escalation on the southern front of Lebanon."