BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia plans to deport Lebanese citizens who support Hezbollah because of the militant group’s role in the Syrian civil war, according to Kingdom's envoy to Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia will deport “those who financially support this party,” Ambassador Ali Awad Assiri has told Lebanon’s Future TV.
He added that Hezbollah bears full responsibility for recent restrictive measures adopted by Gulf Arab countries against the group.
The GCC earlier this month said they would revoke residency permits for Hezbollah members in the Gulf and limit their “financial and business transactions.”
There are more than half a million Lebanese working in the Gulf Arab nations, including tens of thousands in Saudi Arabia. Some have been living in the Kingdom for decades.
“This is a serious decision and will be implemented in detail whether by the embassy (in Beirut) or in the Kingdom,” Assiri said. “The aim is not to humiliate Lebanese citizens or make them kneel. Acts are being committed against innocent Syrian people.”
Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour told reporters on Thursday that he was in contact with Gulf officials over the matter.