US imposes sanctions on Lebanon’s Green Without Borders for Hezbollah ties

The US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Lebanon-based organization Green Without Borders (GWB) due to its ties with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

GWB has provided support to and cover for Hezbollah’s operations in southern Lebanon along the “Blue Line” between Lebanon and Israel over the last decade while publicly presenting itself as an environmental group, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

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“The United States rejects Hezbollah’s cynical efforts to cloak its destabilizing terrorist activities with false environmentalism,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.

“We will continue to support the many Lebanese civil society groups protecting Lebanon’s unique and sensitive natural environment while also relentlessly pursuing Hezbollah and their support networks.”

The Treasury Department also said it was designating GWB’s leader, Zuhair Subhi Nahla.

According to the Treasury Department, Green Without Borders was established in 2013 with a professed goal of preserving Lebanon’s natural environment.

However, its true purpose has been to provide a cover for Hezbollah’s operations in southern Lebanon along the Blue Line.

GWB has established multiple outposts manned by Hezbollah operatives in more than a dozen locations, the Treasury Department said.

These outposts have served as a front for concealing Hezbollah’s underground storage facilities and stockpiles of munitions, it added.

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