Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Israel has accused Lebanese non-governmental environmental group Green Without Borders of being Hezbollah arm. The United States and some people in Lebanon also accused the group as an arm of Hezbollah that is used to hide its military activities.
They say the group has been setting up outposts for the militant organization along the border with Israel. In December, locals in the southern Christian village of Rmaych along the border said they encountered armed men at an outpost of the group that was blocking them from farmlands.
But the group denies any link to Hezbollah, which also says it has no links with the environmental group.
The head of the group Zouher Nahli said that Green Without Borders is not an arm for anyone. It is working for all the people as an environmental entity and it is not politicized, the US media reported on Wednesday.
He said that the group’s funding comes from the ministries of environment and agriculture, and from wealthy Lebanese who are conscious about the environment and municipalities.
Environmental group’s work
Nahli said that the group has helped plant about two million trees since its establishment in 2009.
Hezbollah and Israel are archenemies and have fought several wars over the past decades. The last of these wars ended in August 2006. The 34-day conflict claimed 1,200 lives in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 Israeli, mostly soldiers, were also killed.
