Another 120 Lebanese will be deported in the near future from the United Arab Emirates , al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday.
Al-Akhbar , which is closely linked to Hezbollah and the Syrian regime wrote:
“Sources in the UAE quoted officials as saying that the deportation decision will include 120 Lebanese nationals in the upcoming weeks. ”
On Sunday, several Lebanese deported from UAE arrived in Beirut for the second day in a row.
Most of the 70 expats that were deported recently have been residing in the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman.
Suspicious activity
The UAE Authorities took the decision to deport a number of Lebanese from the country due to the suspicious activity they were involved in, the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah reported on Sunday.
Parliamentary sources from the March 14 camp told the daily that the authorities had issued dozens of warnings to the deported people over the years to cease their suspicious actions.
These warnings fell on deaf ears and the authorities had no choice but to deport them, they added.
The suspicious activity includes money transfers to Hezbollah and money laundering.
Others were involved in political propaganda for the party and attempts to recruit new members to it, adding that some of the deported people are not Shiites, but offered cover for them.
The move is also reportedly in retaliation to a speech by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah which in which he strongly attacked the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Arab diplomatic sources told al-Seyassah that there are fears that other Gulf states would follow the example of the UAE and deport Lebanese families “linked to Hezbollah and Iran’s expansionist ambitions in the region.”
Security reasons
Prime Minister Tammam Salam who has been attending the Egyptian Economic Conferece in Sharm el Sheikh met the vice president of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum on Saturday to discuss the recent decision to deport the Lebanese citizens .
Sheikh Mohammed reportedly vowed to follow up on the matter with his country’s authorities, stressing that there is no official decision to target the Lebanese living in the UAE.
He pointed out that all measures taken against some Lebanese expats are merely linked to security concerns and don’t exceed this limit.
“The UAE has neither a policy nor an intention to target Lebanese residents.” Salam quoted the Dubai ruler as saying
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has been at odds with the Gulf states, specially since the crisis in Syria started 4 years ago.
UAE hosts more than 100,000 Lebanese expatriates
Hundreds of Lebanese, mostly Shiite Muslims, have been quietly deported from the UAE since 2009. Deportations of Shiites from oil-rich Gulf states rose in 2013 after Hizbullah joined Syrian government forces in Syria’s civil war.
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