Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah revealed that the two explosive devices detonated against the Zionist military force invading Lebanon in the Labbouneh southern town of Lebanon were of “deliberate operation.”
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah revealed Wednesday that the two explosive devices which were detonated against the Zionist military force invading Lebanon in the Labbouneh southern town of Lebanon were of “deliberate operation.”
“The two bombed IEDs were new. They were not landmines of the Israeli army remains. The first has been exploded against the Special Israeli force. When the second force intervened, the second IED has been exploded,” Sayyed Nasrallah said.
“The second force has been fell and hit directly,” he stressed, noting that “the Israeli tried to undermine the incident, as well as some Lebanese. The story says that two Israeli divisions entered the Lebanese territory of Labbouneh. This area is in particular under the surveillance of the Resistance fighters and we had previous information stating that the Israelis will pass through it. Therefore, we planted IEDs and exploded them once they (the Zionist soldiers) came.”
During an exclusive interview with Al-Mayadeen TV Network broadcast live on Al-Manar Channel, in which he unfolded important facts of July war 2006 the Zionist entity launched on Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out that “Labbouneh violation by the Israeli occupation army was not the first. It is funny that after 65 years of experience with the Israelis, someone in Lebanon requests from the United Nations to deter Israeli.”
Hezbollah Secretary General declared that "We started recently to feel operational Israeli violations on the border, which might be targeting the Resistance and the people. The Labbouneh operation will not be the last, and we will not tolerate any land violations of our land. We will face them with the proper way at any time we know that the Israeli has entered our land. We will not accept those land violations. We will face the Israeli in any place he steps inside Lebanon. We won’t allow them to enter."
Fielding a question on “the silence of the Lebanese political ranks regarding the Zionist breaching of borders and UN resolution 1701, his eminence indicated that “it is not surprising, since some forces in Lebanon do not consider Israel an enemy,” describing the Lebanese President Michel Sleiman’s demand to file a complaint to the United Nations as “weak position.”
“We agree that the International community equalizes between the victim and the executioner and to condemn Israel and us. It is our right not to keep silent after any violation of our land, and those Israeli violations are operational and have operational targets which cannot be tolerated, he explained, stating that “the Israeli was surprised by the amount of leaked information, as it was clear.”
Sayyed Nasrallah highlighted that “they won’t “leave us alone” as long as the Resistance is holding on to the central cause of Ummah and committed to protect Lebanon and defend its sovereignty. The greatest problem of the US and the West, even of great part of the Arab regimes – with us is that we are Resistance movement in particular. The problem is not related to domestic affairs.”
He also revealed that “they were always offering to keep us armed in exchange for presenting a commitment – even if implicitly – to stay out of the Palestinian cause and the confrontation with the Israeli ambitions. The mediators were the US, the UK, France and others.”
Sayyed Nasrallah made it clear that the former vice-President of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, presented a great offer to us through an American man of Lebanese descent which provides for recognizing us internationally, keeping weapons in our possession and delisting Hezbollah from the list of terror, under the condition that we give a verbal commitment in a closed room. We rejected that. We can’t dive anyone such a commitment.”
“What is the value of those weapons if they weren’t for defending a cause and a country?” he asked.
"When we chose this path, we agreed upon it unanimously and offered the elite of our martyrs. Therefore, this matter is non-negotiable. The real problem they consider is that we are Resistance and we determined to remain Resistance. It is a matter of faith and principle,” Sayyed Nasrallah went on to say.
July War Facts: Revealed for the First Time
Moreover, the Lebanese head of Resistance recalled that “After May 25, 2000, people celebrated the liberation achievement. And since the second day (i.e. May 26, 2000), we believed that we should get prepared for a war Israeli might launch against Lebanon,” noting that the Zionists agree that the Lebanese Resistance inflicted them a historic and strategic defeat in 2000, and that the Zionists suffer a historic retaliation towards Resistance in Lebanon.
Regarding the kidnapping operation on July 12, 2006, later dubbed “The Truthful Pledge”, Sayyed Nasrallah stated that “Upon kidnapping the two Israeli soldiers, we were ready for any kind of war. We were waiting for it and believing it had been delayed. The Resistance was neither confused nor worried, but had clear strategy battle, because it had been prepared deliberately.”
“During the 2006 July war, our main objective was to inflict the enemy the most possible amount of casualties. In some fields, we left this evaluation for brothers, who decided to steadfast till the last drop of their blood in Maroun al-Ras. However, In Aita Ash-Sha’b, there were a large number of brothers with whom we had lost contact and thought they had been martyred. When we knew they were still alive, Hajj Imad Moughnieh talked to me and I told him “not to oblige them to stay in place to fight. But the brothers made up their minds to survive there till the last minute,” he narrated.
“While in Bent Jbeil, the decision was to remain and fight till the end, and to prevent the Israeli from entering the town,” his eminence went on to say, reiterating that Hezbollah was preparing itself for several-month long war at least.
Moreover, Sayyed Nasrallah said that the rockets launched by Resistance the July war were of a little number regarding what we were possessing. From a field capability point of view, we were able to fire large number of rockets, but we were considering a long war which we didn’t want to end just because our stock might become out of rockets,” adding that effective communication between the central operation room and the subordinate operation rooms in towns and regions was one of the elements of power.
His eminence elaborated that during the war “a number of spy agents had been arrested and handed over to the Lebanese security agencies,” noting that one points of the Israeli failure in July war related to the information weakness, i.e. when the Zionists carried out a military landing at Dar al-Hikma hospital in Baalbeck.
“I assure you that the two Israeli hostages hadn’t been taken to Baalbeck, thus the Israeli givens were wrong,” he told the interviewer, Ghassan Bin Jeddo.
Sayyed Nasrallah expressed beliefs that Beirut had been safeguarded through Resistance and not by the political decision:
“The Israeli does not care about any political pressure. Thus we put the “Dahiyeh for Tel Aviv” equation. We had the ability then to bomb Tel Aviv. If the Israeli had continued the war in the same way, we would have destroyed hundreds of tanks.”
Syria Offered Unlimited Weapons Stockpile for Hezbollah
Turning to Hezbollah arsenal during 2006 war, Sayyed Nasrallah stressed: “We were assured that any Israeli tank, which would be facing the Kornet missiles, would be destroyed. Striking the Israeli warship was one of the surprises which we prepared for the Israelis. Hitting it during July war was a very complicated process.”
“It was possible then that I finished my telephone message before launching the rocket at the warship,” he added.
Answering a question on the destroyed building in Dahiyeh during the war, his eminence said that many of those were not rooming Hezbollah centers or leaders, but the random destruction might hurt us. The logic says that we, as Hezbollah leaders, not to gather in one place.”
The Secretary General made it clear that Hezbollah had received weapons directly from Syria before and during the July war, pointing out that “a great part of the Resistance readiness in Lebanon was depending on the arms coming from Syria.”
“Many of the weapons we used were Syrian-made. Since the beginning of July war, the Syrian army warehouse was open for the Lebanese Resistance.”
“We received our Kornet from Syria. We took more weapons for spare assuming that the war will drag on,” he added.
Sayyed Nasrallah also revealed that President Bashar al-Assad had expressed his readiness to get involved in the war against the Zionist entity.
“He (President Assad) was believing that the attack is regional and international against the Resistance, along with an internal conspiracy, and that had the Resistance been eliminated, the battle will drag to Syria,” the Sayyed said, explaining that the Zionist units were supposed to continue their path from Hassbaya towards al-Masna’ and Damascus, where the Syrian leadership was considering the deployment of a Syrian force to Hassbaya to fight the Zionist units.
“I told Assad then that our position is excellent and we are heading towards the victory, and that the Israelis will fail in achieving their goals. I’m not worried and I don’t think that Damascus is in danger. Therefore, I call for patience. We don’t want a regional war to be erupted in our region and we are able to win in this battle,” his eminence said.
“We didn’t receive weapons from Iran during the July war because we didn’t need them,” he declared.
Post July War Negotiations
Turning on to the negotiations that took place after the July war, Sayyed Nasrallah said:
“I wouldn’t authorize Fuad al-Siniora because he wasn’t trustworthy in this issue, and the battle of political negotiation took place against Siniora and his political bloc before taking place against the American and the European actors. If we had given them our necks, they would have beheaded us.”
Fielding a question on disarming the Resistance, his eminence stated that the main focus was on Resistance arms and that the main concern of March 14 bloc is to get rid of those weapons, underlying that “March 14 stance was clear during the July war, but when we entered the government, the Prime Minister and his allies adopted the goals of others that were prevailing during the war.
“During the July war, this bloc had called us and demanded many conditions including the disarmament the approval on a multinational force to be deployed along the borders with Palestine and Syria, in addition to handing the two hostages over. But we rejected that,” Sayyed Nasrallah further elaborated.
“We didn’t feel during the war that we have a Premier or another political party that has even a humanitarian sympathy towards us,” he went on to say, adding that: “Siniora was the one who postponed the solution at the last days of the war. The government should file its decision of approval on 1701, but this had been delayed for two or three days.”
“There were Arab countries involved in the July war, and March 14 bloc was employing it to eliminate the Resistance. For this reason it kept on with this project, and still keeping on with it. I we had a loyal government, we would ended the war under Lebanon’s conditions, but the political battle was from the inside,” Sayyed Nasrallah continued.
As for Hezbollah main ally, the Free Patriotic movement, the Secretary General said that he wasn’t surprised by the stance of its leader, MP Gen. Michel Aoun, because both were tackling the same issues prior to July war.
“Gen. Aoun stance was historic. He had made up his choices alone,” the Sayyed said.
No Government to Be Formed without Hezbollah
Touching to the new Lebanese cabinet, Sayyed Nasrallah unfolded that when PM-designate Tammam Salam was appointed to form the government, he set conditions or conditions were set against him.
“He (Salam) said: I don’t want partisans, parliamentarian candidates or provocative figures, and that he wants rotation in portfolios. This means that doesn’t want to form a cabinet. All what we have said is that we want a national unity government in which all parliamentary blocs are represented according to its masses,” Sayyed Nasrallah made clear.
He also gave notice that the Americans and the Saudis don’t want Hezbollah to join the government, and don’t want the bloc – which we are part of – to enjoy a real partnership in the government.
He also gave notice that the Americans and the Saudis don’t want Hezbollah to join the government, and don’t want the bloc – which we are part of – to enjoy a real partnership in the government.
Talks on Neutral Government Hypocrisy
Nevertheless, Sayyed Nasrallah lashed out at talks on forming a neutral government, asking: “Where the neutrals in Lebanon are?”
“There is none,” he replied, adding that “a technocrat and neutral candidate does not exist in Lebanon. Talking about a government of neutrals is hypocrisy. The country’s situation requires a real national unity government. Hence we are still supporting Salam as a Prime Minister.”
Commenting on the Lebanese President Michel Sleiman quotes stating that a one-party cabinet was formed previously without any problems, his eminence said that this view is mistaken.
“When care taker Prime Minister was designated to form the cabinet, the majority who named him approved on the participation of the other party. Mikati then took his time to negotiate,” he explained.
“They will be sinning against this country if they form a fait accompli government, for they will be cancelling the half of the state,” Sayyed Nasrallah said, noting that “Our allies will not participate without us, and we will not do so without them.”
Answering a question whether he expects that Sleiman will ink a fait accompli cabinet, his eminence expressed beliefs that the former might do it, particularly after his latest speeches.
As for accusing Hezbollah of launching the rocket attack on Al-Yarzeh in retaliation against Sleiman’s position, the Sayyed described it as “ridiculous,” indicating that Saudi Arabia practices hostility against Hezbollah in everything.
In the meantime, Hezbollah Secretary General stressed that “Hezbollah hasn’t kidnapped the two Turkish pilots, and had no idea about the operation.
“Hezbollah does not accept it,” he said.
His eminence also underlined that “Hezbollah has nothing to do with releasing prisoners from Egypt jails.
“Today, we are very sorry for what is happening in Egypt and are concerned about it. We always hope that things will get resolved through dialogue and understanding,” Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said.
Secretary General of Hezbollah didn’t forget to praise the people of Resistance for being one of its victory factors.
“If it weren't for their sacrifices, the resistance wouldn't keep on.”
At the end of the interview, His eminence reminded the foe, and the friend as well, that time of defeats has gone despite all the ongoing events in the region.
“This period will be crossed safely,” he said.
“Despite everything, I confirm that the Resistance is stronger than ever, and stronger than it was during the 33-day war,” leader of the Lebanese Resistance of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, concluded.
