Bahrain Parliament Labels Hizbullah 'Terrorist Organization' in Urgent Bill

Bahrain's parliament approved on Tuesday in an unprecedented step an urgent proposal to label Hizbullah a terrorist organization, calling on the cabinet to coordinate with the country's Foreign Ministry and with its counterparts in the Gulf Cooperation Council's nations to put the suggestion in force.

The proposal was referred to the cabinet after it succeeded in receiving a majority vote at the parliament.

"I demand the FM to collaborate with the GCC countries to crush Hizbullah,” Salafist legislator Jassim al-Saeedi stated at the parliament.

Meanwhile, MP Khaled Abdul Aal told CNN television that al-Saeedi's proposal has a “sectarian basis”: “It is because Hizbullah is Shiite, despite being a resistance against Israel”.

"His proposal is worthless and can be equated with demanding the expulsion of the U.S. ambassador for interfering in the nation's affairs,” he added.

"Only the king has the authority to adopt such steps”.

Former lawmaker Jassem Murad stated that the proposal was “a wrong decision”, noting that he does not think the cabinet will adopt it.

"The kingdom does not need to immerse itself in such issues,” he clarified, noting that such a decision might have negative consequences on Bahrain and its people such as becoming target of attacks.

Murad said the vote might have been a result of the withdrawal of the Shiite al-Wefaq bloc from the parliament.

Hizbullah and Bahrain's relation has witnessed tension since the beginning or uprising in the kingdom as the party has been a strong advocate of the popular protests that began in 2011.

Ties between Lebanon and Bahrain reached an all-time low in 2011 when Nasrallah slammed the crackdown on the protesters.

His remarks prompted the Bahraini authorities to suspend the flights of Gulf Air and Bahraini Air between Manama and Beirut for several months.