Hizbullah calls for expulsion of US ambassador
Lebanon, Politics, 10/4/1997

The Iranian-backed Hizbullah guerrilla group has called for the expulsion of the US Ambassador to Lebanon, accusing him of being "unable to respect² the group's resistance war against Israeli occupation forces in south Lebanon.

Hizbullah, in its attack against Ambassador Richard Jones, was responding to remarks made by Jones earlier in which he said the United States did not place Hizbullah on a blacklist of terrorist organizations because of its resistance war in the south but as a result of the group's militant acts against US interests in the 1980s. A statement by the Shiite Muslim militant group published Friday said Jones' position "was in line with the American's biased policy towards the Zionist entity which intrinsically tends to terrorism, aggression, assault and the usurpation of the territories of others." "The arrogant and aggressive logic of the US was echoed in the ambassador's insistence on describing Hizbullah as a terrorist organization despite the fact that the party's actions and policies have placed it as a leader among the world's liberation movements," the statement said.

It was not the first time that Hizbullah called for the expulsion of the American ambassador. Earlier this year, the group launched a scathing attack on Jones and demanded his trial and expulsion after he expressed sadness at the death of 73 Israeli soldiers in a helicopter crash while on their way to south Lebanon.

Hizbullah leads a war of attrition in south Lebanon aimed at driving out some 1,500 Israeli troops and 2,500 Lebanese allied militiamen from a border enclave Israel has occupied since 1985 to protect its northern territories against cross-border guerrilla attacks.The group was also responsible for kidnapping several westerners during the chaotic days of the 1975-90 civil war.

Previous Stories:
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  Beirut mass rally commemorates Hadi Nasrallah and companions   (9/22/1997)
  Contacts about Albright's visit still going on   (9/18/1997)

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