last update - 07:31 15/08/2007
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and AgenciesHezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Tuesday that his organization is not interested in another war in the region, and expressed hope that such a scenario would be avoided.
Addressing a rally that marked the end of the Second Lebanon War, Nasrallah said Hezbollah was nonetheless continuing to prepare for the possibility of a war, and added his organization would not "rest on its laurels."
"I said that in order to prevent a war," he said, adding that Israel must "understand that any war on Lebanon will have a very high price."
The Hezbollah chief also claimed that Israel and the U.S. made false accusations about Hezbollah and tried to divide the Lebanese people to justify last summer's war.
Nasrallah said the United States and Israel tried to split the Lebanese along sectarian lines and to describe the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah as a terrorist group in order to weaken it during the 34-day war.
"They [America and Israel] wanted to tear us apart. They wanted to use war to isolate us one country after the other, one people after the other, one sect after the other and one party after the other, Nasrallah told a mass rally in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold that was heavily bombed by Israeli forces during last year's war.
"When we are divided, they will win and we will be defeated," he said. The rally was organized by the Shiite Muslim group to mark the first anniversary of the war's end, which Hezbollah says it won and calls a divine victory.
The cease-fire that brought the 33-day conflict to an end took effect exactly one year ago, on August 14, 2007.
Nasrallah did not personally attend the rally. His speech was relayed to the crowd on giant screens set up in a stadium and on top of buildings in the southern suburbs.
"They told [the Lebanese] that Hezbollah is an Iranian and Syrian tool," Nasrallah said.
"The most serious accusation was the sectarian issue. They told the Christians that the fighting was with a Muslim group and that it has nothing to do with you. They told Sunni Muslims that the fighting was with a Shiite group and was targeting the Shiite project [in the region]," Nasrallah said.
Tens of thousands of people attended the rally, carrying pictures of Nasrallah and placards that read "August 14 - the day of victory over the Zionist regime."
"For us he [Nasrallah] is the hero and with his wisdom and military tactics he made this victory," a man carrying Hezbollah's yellow flag said.
Addressing a rally that marked the end of the Second Lebanon War, Nasrallah said Hezbollah was nonetheless continuing to prepare for the possibility of a war, and added his organization would not "rest on its laurels."
"If you the Zionists are thinking of attacking Lebanon ... I promise great surprises that could alter the fate of the war and the region, G-d willing," he said.Nasrallah said he is interested in achieving a balance of power with Israel, and therefore decided to declare that Hezbollah has the capability to strike anywhere in Israel.
"I said that in order to prevent a war," he said, adding that Israel must "understand that any war on Lebanon will have a very high price."
The Hezbollah chief also claimed that Israel and the U.S. made false accusations about Hezbollah and tried to divide the Lebanese people to justify last summer's war.
Nasrallah said the United States and Israel tried to split the Lebanese along sectarian lines and to describe the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah as a terrorist group in order to weaken it during the 34-day war.
"They [America and Israel] wanted to tear us apart. They wanted to use war to isolate us one country after the other, one people after the other, one sect after the other and one party after the other, Nasrallah told a mass rally in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold that was heavily bombed by Israeli forces during last year's war.
"When we are divided, they will win and we will be defeated," he said. The rally was organized by the Shiite Muslim group to mark the first anniversary of the war's end, which Hezbollah says it won and calls a divine victory.
The cease-fire that brought the 33-day conflict to an end took effect exactly one year ago, on August 14, 2007.
Nasrallah did not personally attend the rally. His speech was relayed to the crowd on giant screens set up in a stadium and on top of buildings in the southern suburbs.
"They told [the Lebanese] that Hezbollah is an Iranian and Syrian tool," Nasrallah said.
"The most serious accusation was the sectarian issue. They told the Christians that the fighting was with a Muslim group and that it has nothing to do with you. They told Sunni Muslims that the fighting was with a Shiite group and was targeting the Shiite project [in the region]," Nasrallah said.
Tens of thousands of people attended the rally, carrying pictures of Nasrallah and placards that read "August 14 - the day of victory over the Zionist regime."
"For us he [Nasrallah] is the hero and with his wisdom and military tactics he made this victory," a man carrying Hezbollah's yellow flag said.
Hezbollah chief Nasrallah addressing supporters on a video screen Tuesday, during a Beirut rally marking the end of the Second Lebanon War.
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