BEIRUT: Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah slammed as “mercenaries” those who criticize his party’s possession of arms. “Has it become a shame to possess the power of resistance and defense, and own the ability to harm the enemy and create the right balance?” the secretary general of Hizbullah asked during a speech to mark the third night of Ashura.
Nasrallah said certain politicians were still being bribed to continue criticizing the Hizbullah and its weapons.
“If they stop criticizing us they won’t be paid,” he said, adding that the Resistance’s arms were now strong enough to defeat Israel.
Nasrallah also said on the occasion of Ashura that religious and cultural differences could be overcome because the Lebanese have the same fate and common objectives.
The Day of Ashura, which falls on Sunday, is commemorated by Shiites as a day of mourning for the martyrdom of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad, at the Battle of Karbala on the 10th day of the Islamic Calendar of the month of Muharram in the year 61 AH (October 10, 680 AD).
The Hizbullah leader added that racial and ethnic conflicts have long existed, but some people use the tensions to their own advantage.
Nasrallah also commented on Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s landmark visit to Damascus on Saturday, saying it was likely to promote a calm and relaxing atmosphere in Lebanon.
It was Hariri’s first trip to Damascus since the 2005 assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri – a killing that he and his allies in Beirut blamed on Syria.
Turning to the United States, Nasrallah accused Washington of launching wars in the region. He also described Israel as the “barracks of the American project” in the Middle East.
Also commenting on the Resistance’s arms, Hizbullah’s second-in-command Sheikh Naeem Qassem said Sunday his party refused to relinquish the “path of resistance and embrace that of failed diplomacy.
He added that without the Resistance, south Lebanon would have not been liberated from Israeli occupation in 2000.
Qassem lashed out at comments by US President Barack Obama, who told Lebanese President Michel Sleiman that Washington was concerned with arms smuggling into Lebanon, “because the arms harm Israel’s security.”
“Are you not worried that Israel possesses 400 nuclear heads and mass destruction weapons?” he asked Obama.
Hizbullah’s number two also warned against targeting the Resistance, and urged all groups to join the Resistance against Israel.
“No one has the right to expose the Resistance, the Lebanese army and people,” Qassem said,
He also called on those “who are not resisting” to take adequate measures and participate in the Resistance.
Last week, signs of disagreement emerged when Sleiman said he had brought up Israel with Obama.
“We also discussed the Israeli threats against Lebanon which are taking place and place obstacles to the economic growth of the country,” Sleiman told reporters in Washington.
Obama later made clear there were some issues on which he and Sleiman would not agree, including Israel, and noted they had discussed the so far partial implementation of the UN resolution on ending Israel’s 2006 war on Lebanon. – The Daily Star
Hizbullah attack bids ‘stoked tension’ with Turkey
BEIRUT: The series of alleged Hizbullah plots to attack Israeli targets in Turkey were likely behind the tension between Israel and the Shiite party this past summer and fall, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Sunday.
“The foiled attempts may explain the numerous warnings Israel has issued since August to Hizbullah to abstain from acts the group might regret,” Haaretz said.
The newspaper said that so far there have been reports of at least six foiled attacks against Israeli targets overseas. The plots, according to Haaretz, were in retaliation for the killing of Hizbullah’s top military commander Imad Mughniyeh in a Damascus car bombing in February 2008, which the group blamed on Israel.
The Israeli daily reported that in October, the Turkish media reported that police headquarters had briefed police officers in a number of cities to be on the alert for Hizbullah attempts to attack American and Israeli targets in Turkey.
Haaretz quoted Turkish media as saying that Hizbullah’s planned attacks were extremely ambitious and organized well in advance, reportedly with the help of Syrian and Iranian intelligence. Iranian agents, posing as tourists, were thought to be assisting these potential the attacks, according to the daily.
It is suspected that Hizbullah operatives planned to attack a series of targets linked to Israel and possibly the Jewish community in Turkey, the newspaper said.
According to Haaretz, Turkish security forces managed to uncover the plot after receiving information from a Western intelligence service. The newspaper added that the foiled attempts may explain the numerous warnings Israel has issued since August to Hizbullah to abstain from acts the group might regret.
Israel has threatened to respond against Hizbullah in Lebanon if the organization staged a major attack in Turkey. – The Daily Star
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