Nasrallah Speaks on the Second Anniversary of the end of the July war
On August 15, the Secretary General of Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech marking the 2nd anniversary of the July-August war. The following is the text of the speech carried by Hezbollah-affiliated Al Manar TV. The text is reprinted here with permission from and thanks to Mideastwire.
“I seek refuge in God from Satan, the accursed. In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate; praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds; may the peace and blessings of God be upon our Lord and Prophet Muhammad and his good and chaste family members, righteous companions, and all the Apostles and messengers.
“God has said in his glorious book: “In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate. Call to mind when ye were a small (band), despised through the land, and afraid that men might despoil and kidnap you; But He provided a safe asylum for you, strengthened you with His aid, and gave you Good things for sustenance: that ye might be grateful.”
“Peace and the blessings of God be upon you. At the beginning of my speech, and before touching on the glorious and dear occasion of the second anniversary of the divine victory, the triumph of the resistance, of Lebanon, and the nation, I would like to pay homage and offer condolences to the families of the martyrs, the martyrs of the Lebanese Army, and the martyrs of our good people in the city of Tripoli and the northern region who fell yesterday by murderous hands and the criminal operation that targeted the homeland, the Army, the people, and the entire country. I pray to Almighty God to grant the injured quick recovery and to give all the families of the causalities solace, patience, and forbearance.
“This crime, which was carried out yesterday as Lebanon prepares for entering a new phase on more than one domestic and regional level, is a crime that must be condemned by all Lebanese. It must be an incentive for all of us to leave the state of tension, friction, dispute, and nervousness, to the phase of cooperation to immunize our country against all dangers and threats.
“On the second anniversary of the Divine Victory on 14 August 2006, which was manifested in the victory of the resistance, of Lebanon, and the nation, and in inflicting a historic defeat on the Zionist enemy and preventing it from realizing any of its black targets; on this anniversary, I bow in reverence before the people who made immense sacrifices – the martyrs of the resistance, the Army, and the people; the martyrs of the resistance, the martyrs of the Army, and the martyrs of the people, led by Martyr Leader Al-Hajj Imad Mughniyah.
“I bow in reverence before their noble families and the injured, some of whose wounds are still raw; before those who were displaced and whose homes were destroyed; before those who remained steadfast and whose homes were destroyed; before those who lost their means of livelihood and those who backed the resistance with all their resources; before those from all Lebanese communities who welcomed their displaced brothers in all Lebanese areas; and before the religious and political leaderships in Lebanon and across the nation, which were partners to this leadership, partners through the position they adopted, and partners in epic-making.
“I bow in reverence before those who stood by the side of Lebanon, the Lebanese people, resistance, and Army across the Arab and Islamic worlds and throughout the world during the savage Zionist aggression. After two years, and over the past two years, the hugeness of the war, the size of the aggression, the serious and immense capabilities that the enemy had used, and the size of the international and regional collusion with the enemy were made apparent with time.
“Likewise, the extent of the steadfastness and the degree of the challenge that we faced together in confronting the war, the aggression, and the collusion were also made apparent. Day after day, it becomes obvious that what happened in July of 2006 has demonstrated the latent potentialities in Lebanon and the nation, not only in resistance or in terms of the political leadership but also in ordinary, good, and pure people, who demonstrated a lofty and high degree of patience and forbearance, and the ability to face dangers and withstand pains and agonies.
“Here I must mention many establishments and studies centres that came to the areas that were destroyed because of the war, expecting to find men, women, and children with psychological traumas, requiring psychotherapy. However, the result was flabbergasting to them. They discovered that these were happy with what they did and elated for what they accomplished; that they have enduring all that had occurred to them, considering that this was part of their duties. These studies centres said that this was the result of faith, the culture of faith, and the concepts that are embedded in their conscience, and their cultural and civilized heritage that is deep-rooted in history.
“After two years, we have ascertained that what happened during this war was a true miracle. It was a divine victory for the tortured and longsuffering few who did not have great material resources but who had the sufficient will and determination to confront the strongest army in the region, supported by the strongest and most vicious tyrants of the world.
“The second anniversary also demonstrates that the repercussions of the war are still continuing and on all levels: on the level of the strategic military and political thinking, and on the level of the schools of fighting and combat principles. This has been confirmed by the great number of profound studies that have been made so far in many places in the world, especially in Israel and the United States, because they are concerned more than others and want to learn lessons from their defeat and failure.
“The repercussions continue within the enemy entity and its army, in which the majority, if not the entire first line of commanders and generals have been either dismissed or have resigned. It exported some of those failed general, such as General Gal Hirsch, who went to Georgia. That miserable government entrusted him with establishing, training, and rehabilitating the Georgian Special Forces. Georgia, which relied on Israeli experts and Israeli weapons in confronting Russia, is facing the failure it has learned from failed generals. By the way, what happened in Georgia these days is a lesson for all of those who accept to be pushed by America into adventures, uncalculated wars, and hopeless confrontations. At the end, America abandons them, and simply issues a statement as a lip service, for its interests are above anything else.
“In any case, eventually the enemy army has reached a stage where Ehud Baraq, its chief of staff, its head general, and current defence minister says that the reason for the defeat was the lack of combat experience by the leadership that waged the July 2006 war, especially the military command. Who has the combat experience then if all those generals who Israel says have long experience in previous wars failed and who, in the eyes of Baraq, were inexperienced? Who is experienced, then, Baraq or Ashkenazi, the ones who had experienced the defeat of Israel in Lebanon in 2000.
“Do I have to remind Ashkenazi, who was the commander of the Northern Command, of his incompetence and failure in front of the young men of the resistance, even though the resistance tactics and resources were relatively modest compared to the tactics, resources, and experience of the resistance now? Do I have to remind Ehud Baraq of his speeches when he ran for the post of the prime minister of the enemy government or when he was the enemy prime minister in 2000, and his admission that all methods of confronting the resistance in Lebanon had failed and that Israel had no choice but to withdraw from Lebanon?
“Do I have to remind him that he fixed the withdrawal date for July 2000 and then the resistance forced him to withdraw in May 2000, imposing on him the time, the scenario, and the form of the withdrawal, and inflicting on him a humiliating withdrawal that he could not exploit politically, preventing him from having any political or security gains from Lebanon or Syria? These two persons have been issuing threats every day, as they did in the Golan yesterday when they addressed military divisions.
“We have only in front of us only those whose failure and incompetence have been proven by experience. If they have new individuals, and if they are keeping them secret from us and we do not know them, then we would have to pause a bit. But these were given a beating in the past. Are they trying to pose as historic leaders capable of changing the equation?
“Moreover, the political repercussions of that war in the enemy entity continue were the political life of the entire political and military crew that led the battle has ended. The defence minister is finished. The chief of staff, who normally dreams of becoming a defence minister or a prime minister, is finished.
“Indeed, while I was writing this speech I tried to remember the name of the defence minister. I forgot his name so soon. It took me some time to remember him.
Olmert is waiting to go next September. As the Israeli and Arab press said a few weeks ago, Olmert died two years ago and will be buried after two months. The results of the July war will continue to impose their presence in the struggle among the Israeli political parties and forces in everything that is connected with the leadership structure. Most of the Zionists admit that they are facing the most difficult leadership and command crisis in their history. This is one of the results of the war.
“The repercussions of the July war continue on the regional level as well. After the end of the war, we said that the New Middle East Plan was either frozen or that it fell from this gate [the war] but two years later, it transpired that the New Middle East Plan has fallen or has been postponed for a long time until another distant future phase. We no longer hear from Ms Condoleezza Rice any talk about the New Middle East, which would have resulted in the division of a number of Arab and Islamic countries.
“Lebanon, represented by its state, army, people, and resistance, must stand up and tell the Arab and Islamic worlds that we have prevented this division and preserved the unity of what we had to keep united through the flesh, blood, and tears of our people. We no longer hear Condoleezza Rice speaking of this because it is difficult for her to admit that the New Middle East, whose birth pangs we had been seeing, was aborted, was stillborn.
The repercussions of the July war continue on the regional level as well. Israel stands confused at the gates of Gaza, accepts the calm, wagers on the siege, and admits the failure to confront the rockets of the Palestinian resistance.
“Israel itself is moving from threats of war against Syria to adopting the strategy of negotiations with it anew and working on breaking its relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and the resistance movements. Israel is clearly speaking about a strategic military development that cannot be ignored. This Israel is standing horrified and hesitant in front of the Islamic Republic of Iran, not knowing whether to move forward or backward.
This is on the regional level. Allow me to continue reading in order to save time and talk about all the things I want to talk about today. What helps me go faster is that I am not addressing a popular rally; people are sitting comfortably listening to me. Therefore, I think it will be all right if I go faster.
“Among the results was the growth and consolidation of the culture of resistance in the nation. I do not say this culture was not there before July 2006. It was strongly there in more than one country facing occupation, but one of the results of steadfastness and victory in the July war was the growth, consolidation, and spread of the culture of resistance in the nation opposite the culture of retreat and capitulation. This is confirmed by all studies and opinion polls conducted during the past two years and every now and then.
“The Israelis have been speaking about cauterizing Arab awareness for more than 50 years. Let us look at what happened to Arab awareness after the July war and the victory scored in that war. Let us also look at what happened to Zionist awareness after the July war and find out the side that was cauterized. This applies to Palestine in spite of the internal incidents which led to confusion and embarrassment. Resistance remains the hope for the Palestinians or most of the Palestinian people, especially after the continued blocking of the horizon for any settlement and Israel’s repetition of the humiliating conditions which cannot at all be accepted by any Palestinian. Some of these conditions were reportedly conveyed to the PNA’s president by Olmert.
“This applies to Iraq, too. There is a serious and solid resistance fighting against foreign occupation. When I talk about resistance in Iraq, I do not talk about the criminal armed groups which kill people and spill their blood simply because of religious, political, ethnic, or regional differences. This is not at all resistance. A short time ago, reports spoke about suicide operations targeting Karbala visitors. This is a strange thing. If you have men or women who are ready to die, why do you not send them to fight the occupation forces instead of killing innocent women and children because you differ with them over a tradition, worship, or habit? This has absolutely nothing to do with resistance.
“These are criminal groups that have nothing to do with the project of resistance in Iraq. I am talking about the serious Iraqi resistance in the various areas and by various communities. Some news media – regrettably only some news media – report on the excellent a! nd extremely effective operations carried out against occupation and its plans in Iraq. The honourable Iraqi resistance men are fighting under difficult and extremely complicated circumstances, but they continue their work.
“What I want to highlight today are the results of opinion polls. We have to do so if we want to be scientific and not run after slogans or level charges at others. These opinion polls were conducted by neutral research centres, some of which were loyal to occupation. They spoke about a high percentage of support for the resistance and its legitimacy. They even said more than 70 per cent of people in some southern governorates support it. True, some respondents questioned some of the methods which might lead to targeting civilians but did not question the legitimacy and right of resistance and the soundness of this option.
“This extensive support for the option of resistance is also the outcome of the strength and spread of the culture of resistance in the nation during the past few years. There is no doubt that the July war was a key factor in this regard. I have to draw the attention of politicians and others, who comment on what I say, that the percentage of ! voting in any Iraqi municipal, parliamentary, or provincial elections does not conflict with the high percentage of support for the resistance because what I and many know is that the honourable and oppressed Iraqi people are ready to follow all paths that help them regain their country and decide the future of their country be they military means through resistance or political means through elections.
“Brothers and sisters, the second anniversary of victory coincides with the return of prisoners Samir and his brothers as well as the martyrs. They returned without favour from anyone and with their heads held up high on a most beautiful national day at a time when the enemy was wallowing in disgrace, defeat, and failure. I wanted to talk about some aspects of the Al-Radwan operation, but will wait for a few more days pending the conclusion of the DNA test of the remains of the four martyrs. The remains of Dalal al-Mughrabi and Yahya Skaff are supposed to be among them.
“This test will not change the fact that Dalal was martyred but the test will be decisive with regard to determining the fate of brother Yahya Skaff. We will wait for a few more days. I may then hold a news conference to talk about the results of this operation and the reports we received from the Israelis through the mediator on the fate of Yahya Skaff, Muhammad Faran! , and the four Iranian diplomats. I will then talk about prisoners, the missing ones, and the remains of martyrs. I will also talk about the issue of detainees in Lebanese prisons and the four officers as well as the missing ones in Lebanon and Syria. I will defer talk about this whole file to a special news conference. I will not talk about it in this speech.
“The second anniversary of victory comes at a time when a national unity government has been established in Lebanon after a sharp political conflict which lasted two years. The war and its outcome had much to do with the reasons and results of this conflict. The new government issued a ministerial statement which was fair to the resistance and disappointed the enemy. By enemy I mean Israel, of course. Before and after the war, Israel sought to end the resistance or at least isolate it, but it failed in both cases. I will be satisfied with what I have said about the results war, steadfastness, and victory in order to talk about some of the current and future obligations. I have a number of issues to talk about and I hope I can cover them all.
“The first issue is linked to Israeli uproar over the growing strength of Hezbollah. This is what Baraq and other Israeli officials like Livni, Mofaz, and Ashkenazi talked about. These four are talking much these days. As for Ehud Olmert, we do not hear anything from him these days because he is leaving. They talk about advanced weapons and an air defence system, threatening action if Hezbollah uses such systems. We heard this much during the past few days. Talk grew stronger after the exchange of prisoners perhaps for psychological or moral reasons as a result of the disappointment, sadness, and disgrace inflicted on the Israeli enemy as Olmert said.
“I want to talk about this issue because it is important for our situation in Lebanon and the situation in the region. Definitely, nobody expects me to stand up now to say that we have a new weapon or that we do not have a new weapon. This is not our habit. I will not say if such a new weapon is present or not and if present what its name or size is. Keeping secrets is part of the resistance power. True, there are things we sometimes announce as part of a well-studied war they call psychological warfare. This is part of the policy of deterrence.
“One should not think that when we announce a certain military capability, we do so for brag or false pride purposes. Likewise, when we conceal a weapon, one should not think we do so out of fear. This is part of the method used in managing the battle of liberation, defence, and resistance against this enemy. We announce or conceal things in accordance with certain calculations. Therefore, when the 2006 war erupted, the enemy was surprised by what we had. I assure you that the enemy did not at all know that the Lebanese resistance possessed a ground-to-sea weapon.
“Also the enemy did not at all know that the resistance possessed an advanced anti-tank weapon. The enemy knew about the missile force but did not know the size, capability, or deployment of this force. There are other things the enemy did not at all know. Therefore, we are not interested in denying or in confirming. If the Israelis threaten us we will not be afraid and rush to deny. We will neither deny nor confirm.
“The background of the clamour raised is also important in order to know how to deal with it. All know that resistance, especially its weapon, blood, martyrs, and sacrifices of its martyrs from all parties, forces, and factions, was the power which defeated Israel with weapons. The resistance defeated Israel in 2000. Since then, Israel has drawn up a big plan to work with the international community and all countries to disarm the resistance. A number of enemy leaders announced this. The one who spoke most about this issue was Shalom, former foreign minister of the enemy.
“He spoke much about it because he considered Resolution 1559 a diplomatic accomplishment by his ministry. The plan called for putting pressure on some countries that were allegedly arming the resistance, smuggling, or selling weapons to it. It also called for drying up the sources of finance and targeting anyone who extends or donates funds to the resistance. Things went too far as to deny visas to some Lebanese officials because they paid $300 at an Iftar banquet in support of the resistance. Hezbollah was also put on the various lists of terrorism in the world. Among the other measures was the issuance of international resolutions like Resolution 1559. All these efforts failed. The July war came in the peak of American-Israel anger at the resistance in a bid to terminate it, but the war failed, too. They are back again now.
“A few days ago, specifically days after the prisoner swap, Livni said big words. She said Israel will adopt a clear strategy and make large efforts throughout the world to achieve one goal called disarming Hezbollah in Lebanon. All the Lebanese should be alert to this point: Disarming the resistance in Lebanon is a declared Israeli objective. I am not divulging special or secret information; this is being declared on TV, satellite channels, and the news media. The Israelis talk about this daily and make threats about it too. The recent uproar and intimidation were part of this process. After the swap, they promised to practically begin pressure to disarm Hezbollah. This intimidation and this pressure are part of this plan, which has many goals. These include putting pressure on the resistance and intimidating it against developing its capabilities. I tell the Israelis this will not work. Second, the plan seeks to put pressure on the Lebanese table of national dialogue and to negatively influence discussion of the defence strategy.
“The Lebanese leaders will go to the table of national dialogue to discuss the defence strategy, surrounded by huge Israeli clamour, threat, and intimidation. The Israelis are deliberately threatening the state and its institutions and the government today. This falls within this framework. One of the aims of this clamour might be exaggerating Hezbollah’s power in order to acquire more US and western assistance.
“This means the purpose is begging. They will tell the Americans and the West: We are threatened and there is a power near us that poses a strategic threat to our existence, so give us planes, weapons, and facilities. This is actually what they are constantly getting. The aim is also depicting poor Israel as targeted and falling in the circle of threat instead of depicting it as the aggressor, killer, and butcher who is threatening others and spreading death and destruction in Palestine and the entire region every day.
“This policy failed in the past and led to opposite results and will fail today, too. This is proven by the almighty God’s saying: “They plot and plan, and Allah too plans; but the best of planners is Allah.” Why? This is because the clamour the Israelis are making is heard by the e Israeli entity people, the Lebanese people, and the Arab and Islamic nation. This has two results.
“The first is that this is causing their people fear and panic. Hezbollah’s power is depicted to them as great, so they thankfully feel more terrified. This leads to a psychological warfare against their society free of charge as we pay nothing for this war. In return, this increases the confidence the Lebanese people and the Arab and Islamic peoples have in the strength of the resistance and its ability to forge new victories. Will the people of the south, Al-Biqa, Beirut, the mountain, and the north be upset if they hear or know that the resistance in Lebanon obtains, for example, an air defence system with which it can upset the balance if such a thing is true and exists?
“Therefore, this clamour has negative and opposite results of this type. Yes, we should confront this clamour strongly. Neither Lebanon nor anybody in Lebanon should yield to this extortion and uproar. I tell the Lebanese that if we as Lebanese people, army, and resistance unite, cooperate, and abide by the ministerial statement – although each wants to interpret it the way he wants but this is not a problem – Israel’s Baraq, Livni, Mofaz, and Ashkenazi, or the group of failures, will not be able to do anything at all against this country.
“I tell the Zionists that we are not afraid of you, and we were never afraid of you. You can say whatever you want and do whatever you want. We know that you plan for new assassinations against the leaders of the resistance, but this will not push us back. In the past, you killed Shaykh Raghib; you killed [former Hezbollah Secretary General] Sayyid Abbas, and many other leaders of the resistance. You also killed dear commander Al-Hajj Imad Mughniyah. The doors of martyrdom are open for other leaders, but I want to remind them of what we said during the days of resistance when they threatened us with death. Actually, the days of resistance are continuing but the language, of course, becomes more enthusiastic when spoken in popular rallies.
“I want to remind them of this: Are you threatening us with death, o son of al-Tulaqa? Killing us has become a habit and martyrdom is an honour God has bestowed on us. This is not the culture of only the resistance leaders, but also the culture of children, women, old, and young who refuse to cede an iota of their soil or their dignity or sovereignty to a usurping enemy of this type. We will remain steadfast here. I tell you that we will work day and night and our main concern is to make Lebanon stronger with its state, army, people, and resistance and to have the upper hand, God willing.
“As for you, the Zionists, your threats, which are part of your language and not ours, I say: Go to hell. The second issue is not related to the Israeli threats but to the anticipated national dialogue. Regarding the national dialogue table, which is supposed to discuss and resolve national and fateful issues, we stress the need to prepare for national dialogue and hold it as soon as possible. In my speech on the reception of the freed prisoners I said that we insist more than others, and more than before, on the need to discuss and decide on this strategy so that all of us would know how to defend our country in light of all future challenges. Besides, we should take into consideration the rightful calls by a number of political forces on the need to represent the main and essential forces in this crucial national dialogue.
“In this context, we stress our full readiness and openness to a scientific, quiet, and purposeful discussion of a national defence strategy that achieves the aspired national targets. However, we also call for discussing other crucial issues that are not less important than the defence strategy, and we informed the president’s representative of two issues. There is no objection to considering others issues. I would like to stress two issues, which should be discussed during the national dialogue.
“The first is a national strategy to rebuild the just and strong state that reassures all parties on right and clear bases, and this does not mean a call for amending Al-Ta’if Agreement. In light and under the ceiling of the Al-Ta’if Agreement, we should explore a way to build the state which far away from trouble, deception, and exclusion. We need a real national discussion, and experience has proved the soundness of what we used to say years ago in the heart of the crisis.
“No one can cancel the other, and this is the state of affairs in Lebanon, regardless of the status of the other and of your positive or negative assessment of him. We are willing to sit together and hold a discussion, which is not less serious and important than the resistance and national defence issues. We should discuss the construction of a just, strong state that reassures all parties on right bases.
“The second issue is that we should have a national strategy to cope with the economic, financial, social, and living conditions in order to transfer Lebanon from the current difficult stage and deep suffering to a healthy situation. Regarding the economic, social, and financial situation, we can say there is national disaster. War lasts for days and its repercussions may last for limited months or years, but the economic disaster has affected each second and minute of the life of the Lebanese for decades. Unless the economic situation is dealt with through a scientific, objective, national, and pure mentality, Lebanon may head towards a total collapse.
“This is more dangerous than war, in which the factors of victory are very strong, depending on our points of strength and weakness and the enemy’s points of strength and weakness. In my view, the issue is more complicated in the economic area. However, we all should take into account the interests of our people and country and cooperate to make and implement the right decision so that it will not remain mere words or ink on paper.
“The third issue is inter-relations in the Lebanese arena and the national unity government, which I would like to discuss at the end of my speech. I would like to say two words about the Lebanese-Syrian relations. What took place in form and substance during the current two-day visit to Damascus by President Michel Sulayman and his delegation and his meeting with President Bashar al-Asad and Syrian officials should be built upon, and we should view it positively regardless of our assessment of the level of achievement. Undoubtedly, this visit marks a new phase and indicates a qualitative development in relations between Lebanon and Syria. We hope that none will hinder or complicate these endeavours. Based on my knowledge and years of experience about this issue, I strongly believe that the positive atmosphere will handle pending issues between the two countries in a way that serves the interest of the two countries.
“The spirit of deception will fail to make an! y achievement in any of the outstanding files. The fourth issue is inter-relations in the Lebanese arena and the national unity government. We all listened to the heated discussions, which took place at the Chamber of Deputies on the policy statement. Most of the discussions had nothing to do with the policy statement, and people seized the opportunity just to deliver speeches. We listened to the acute attacks against the resistance and the weapon of resistance. I have always called for calm, and I reiterate the call for calm.
“I also urged my brothers to remain patient and not to get out of control despite the harshness of what is being said. I also call on everybody to remain patient and disposed despite the harshness of what is being said. At the same time, I stress to everybody that media campaigns against the resistance and its weapon, making accusations against it, and distorting its image will not do any good and cannot undermine the will and determination of the resistance, its feasibility, and the light of its sun that has shined from the victory of this homeland and for years.
“The only thing that these campaigns can do is raise the level of tension in the street, which Lebanon no longer needs. Lebanon needs calm. I tell them to learn a lesson from all previous events. The 33-day aggression by the strongest army in the region and with international support – and despite the fierceness of that war – did not weaken the resistance, its men, its followers, or its weapon. On the contrary, this made it stronger. The enemy speaks everyday about the growing strength of the resistance.
“Hence, a few angry speeches will not change the scene. I say this to my brothers who get angry and to those who make angry speeches. All this noise inside the country or in the region will go in vain. The resistance is a very deep-rooted programme. It is a conscious and calculated programme that is based on strong foundations, as well as intellectual, cultural, political, national, psychological, emotional, and civilized bases. I do not believe that such small moves can make any change in the course of the resistance.
“Let us put aside whatever arouses the people and let us deal with the new phase with a sense of responsibility. Some people say that there is no national unity government, and we say there is a national unity government, although we wish other forces which have a popular, political, and national weight in the Lebanese arena, had been represented in it. Regarding the government, these forces have accepted the opposition’s ministers as their representatives. This is an opportunity for all us, and le us put obstinacy aside and make this opportunity successful. David Welsh and the former US ambassador to Lebanon spoke several days ago. Both said that the paralysing, or guaranteeing, third has no value or importance.
“They are oversimplifying this issue, and if this issue had no value or importance, why did they paralyse the country for two years and why did they harm the country for two years? If the opposition’s guaranteei! ng third was worthless, why did they paralyse the situation? This proves that it is they, and the opposition, that paralysed the country. The government has been formed and won the confidence of 100 deputies, and it is a very dear confidence. Here, we call on the government to work seriously and responsibly without wasting time.
“Let the government work on all the serious and real files responsibly and seriously. I reiterate Hezbollah’s readiness for real and true cooperation with the government and all ministries in a way that serves the national interests of our country and our people. I also urge political forces to ease this tension and resort to calm dialogue, discussion, and criticism. Calm does not mean that people should not reaction to one another, criticize one another, or make observations to one another. The form, style, and language through which things are said will certainly either comfort the country or put it at the mouth of a volcano. We must shoulder this serious and extremely important national responsibility, cooperate, and seize this opportunity.
“Before concluding my speech today, 14 August, I would like remember the wonderful scene of our kinfolk, whose villages, cities, and neighbourhoods were bombed, returning quickly to their villages, cities, and townships, even though the Israeli enemy has not suspended its operations yet. Nor has it declared a cease-fire, and each day, it confirms that it is in a state of war with Lebanon. Moreover, people were told that millions of cluster bombs were scattered in their villages, houses, and orchards, but they have returned. We also remember the children, men, women, farmers, and students who have been martyred by the cluster bombs which expose Israel’s grudge against our children, women, and people.
“This wonderful scene expresses our culture, faith, determination, and the determination of people to live, return to their land, and stand firm, regardless of the dangers facing them. They are determined to live an honourable life and reject humiliation. I remember that after being displaced, people were hosted and embraced in cities, villages, mosques, churches, schools, universities, houses, and public parks.
“We are often urged to salute this or that area and to salute Beirut. We are not outside Beirut or are alien to the Beirut residents. I salute Beirut, the capital of Arabism, homeland, resistance, and steadfastness, a thousand times. I salute Jabal Lubnan and all its districts, inhabitants, people, and political currents. I salute the north, which has still been bleeding and which lost a lot of pure, wronged blood yesterday. I salute the steadfast, militant, and resisting Al-Biqa and the southern region. I salute the southern Suburb, which suffered from the war, displacement, and destruction.
“I also salute each Lebanese city, village, township, home, and family which embraced this resistance, as well as its loyalty to this homeland and insistence that Lebanon should remain a sovereign, free, and independent country. I also salute the camps of our Palestinian people in Lebanon, who have been partners in resistance, blood, steadfastness, poverty, deprivation, and negligence over the past decades, along with many deprived Lebanese in their land, as our absented leader Imam Musa al-Sadr put it. They also were partners in the July war.
“The second anniversary confirms that we are able to press ahead with our victories based on our unity, cooperation, and tolerance. Why should we remain locked in past grudges and mistakes? We should overcome the grudges of the past, just as we have previously overcome many of them. We should seize the opportunity of construction, and we are now at a new stage and have a new spirit. Let us seize this opportunity out of loyalty to the martyrs of the resistance, people, and army. Many happy victorious returns, long live you, long live Lebanon, long live the resistance, long live the Lebanese people in dignity, and long live our nation, which will be able, God willing, to restore its glories and sanctities through its will and determination. God bless you and grant you salvation.†– Al-Manar, Lebanon
[…] understand the true signifinance of Israel’s loss to Hezbollah in the 2006 Lebanon war, this recent speech by the group’s leader Sayyid Hassan Nassrallah is essential […]