European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters Saturday that his meeting over the weekend with a senior member of the Hizbullah terrorist organization was justified because the group is part of Lebanese society.
Solana met Saturday in Beirut for talks with Hizbullah senior member and Lebanese parliament member Hussein Hajj Hassan, ostensibly to express the European group's support for Lebanon after its June 7 parliamentary elections.
Hizbullah, which had hoped to wrest control of the government from its Western-backed leaders, failed to win a majority.
Solana, meanwhile, explained at a news conference in Beirut, "Lists of terrorist groups are not the same in every country," when a journalist asked about the United States' refusal to deal with Hizbullah, which is prominent on America's terrorist blacklist.
"Hizbullah is a member of the Lebanese society and is represented in the Lebanese parliament, and it will bear responsibilities," Solana said. The EU foreign policy chief headed to Egypt following his two-day visit to Lebanon.
Israel's response to Solana's meeting with the terrorist group, and his explanation of his actions, was one of simple amazement.
"This meeting left us perplexed," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said. "We hope Mr. Solana took advantage of the occasion to press for disarming Hizbullah and for the end of the arms smuggling from Syria," he added.
According to the IDF and numerous intelligence assessments, Hizbullah has fully rearmed itself following the 2006 Second Lebanon War that was fought between the group and Israel.