Hizbullah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah appeared via video link during the annual Iftar banquet hosted by the Resistance Support Organization on Wednesday, delivering a speech mainly related to the resistance protecting Lebanese sovereignty and independence vis-à-vis the "Israeli" occupation and threat.
After thanking the organizers of the Iftar in the Resistance Support organization and greeting all Muslims on the coming of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Sayyed Nasrallah congratulated the Lebanese Army, its generals, and soldiers on the 67th anniversary of the Lebanese army, hoping that all citizens would demonstrate support for the army institution to enable it to fulfill its national role.
Tackling the Resistance issue in Lebanon, Hizbullah Secretary General recalled "There is no doubt that the credit of the 2000 Lebanon victory over the "Israeli" enemy which was defeated and humiliated goes to the Resistance, and not to the UN Security Council, the Arab League, or anyone else."
"Only an arrogant person would deny such, also everyone knows that the Resistance did not ask to take part in the political authority but rather declared that the victory [2000 liberation] belongs to all the Lebanese and asked the Lebanese authorities to bear its responsibility and be in charge of the [Lebanese-Palestinian] borders," His Eminence stressed.
US-"Israeli" Constant Demand: Disarm Hizbullah
Sayyed Nasrallah underscored that following the 2000 liberation, the sole US-"Israeli" demand was the disarmament of Hizbullah, a demand that some political parties adopted as its own goal as well. "We, therefore, confronted a new political and media battle in face of a US-"Israeli" demand to disarm Hizbullah," Sayyed Nasrallah went on to say.
Following the year 2000, Sayyed Nasrallah said that many compromises were offered on the [removal of] Resistance arms, some related to authority others to US money. "But we refused [the compromises] as we see that the Resistance is a guarantee to protecting Lebanon and its people which was abandoned by the entire peoples of the world since 1982," he clarified.
His Eminence revealed that in the year 2004, before the UN Security Council Resolution 1559 was issued, Syria was offered a bargain related to disarming Hizbullah. Also an Arab leader made an offer to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to keep his troops in Lebanon and even deploy it in the South, under the condition of paying the price for that: demanding the disarmament of Hizbullah and the Palestinian factions. Yet al-Assad rejected the offer, as he considers the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine part and parcel of the Arab National security strategy.
Sayyed Nasrallah reminded of the "Israeli" Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom's words in 2004, who said that the issuance of UN resolution 1559 is the fruit of painstaking diplomatic efforts of the "Israeli" Foreign Ministry as well as some Lebanese political factions.
Hizbullah Always Supports National Dialogue
"Long meetings were held between me and ex-PM Rafik Hariri and we agreed that the Resistance arms must remain until a comprehensive settlement is reached in the region and after that we would see what to do with the Resistance weapons," Sayyed Nasrallah evoked, adding "The man was martyred and major rifts followed; we used to consider that the Resistance arms are not subject to discussion, but to comfort the Lebanese we offered a concession by accepting to discuss weapons." His Eminence assured that "The 2006 agreement with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) allowed for these discussions to take place again."
Hizbullah SG said that Hizbullah took part in national dialogue in the hope to follow up on the agreement with the FPM and reach a national agreement over the issue of the national defense strategy, also the issue of Hizbullah's arms. "During the national dialogue session I presented my argument regarding the national defense strategy and the struggle against the "Israeli" enemy. I also presented my views regarding Lebanon's strong and weak points." Sayyed Nasrallah considered that a national defense strategy needed a strong army and a strong resistance," he pointed out.
His Eminence went on to say "I had ended my debate back then by what Former PM Salim al-Hoss said at the time that if the Lebanese army ruled over the Resistance, that would mean the end of the army since it will be annihilated by an "Israeli" attack. Therefore there is a need for cooperation between the army and the Resistance."
He assured that Hizbullah was the first to present a defense strategy on the dialogue table, noting "We were very clear when we presented our proposal regarding the national defense strategy. Hence it is cruel and cynical to say that we do not want to discuss this topic."
Reiterating proof to the importance of the resistance, Sayyed Nasrallah said "The strategy we proposed was put into practice during the 2006 war against "Israel", which was preceded by a national dialogue session."
Another dialogue session was set after the [2008] Doha Agreement and the election of a new president.
March 14 Wagers on Disarming Resistance
Sayyed Nasrallah assured that after several sessions and until this moment, no one has discussed Hizbullah's defense strategy proposal.
"This paper has been proposed since 2006 and no one has discussed or will discuss it either during national dialogue or outside dialogue. The only thing that is requested, and has been requested since the year 2000 is the disarmament of Hizbullah," he stressed.
According to the Leader of the Resistance, the March 14 camp took a decision: calling for the disarmament of Hizbullah and nothing else. He assured that their aim was never how to protect Lebanon.
"Some proposals were presented by the March 14 forces and they require that their national defense strategy is limited to disarming Hizbullah," Sayyed Nasrallah iterated, adding "One of the March 14 camp leaders said a few days ago: do not exhaust yourself discussing the defense strategy, al-Assad regime will collapse and Hizbullah will hand in its arms. Hence, the target is Hizbullah arms."
March 14 Blackmail Rejected
"We are not seeking the boycott of national dialogue, and we do not wish to undermine it. However, we reject the other side using the issue of their participation as blackmail," Sayyed Nasrallah explained, reassuring that Hizbullah will not boycott the dialogue table if it is convened again.
Moving on to equipping the army, Sayyed Nasrallah said "We all agree that we want a strong army, but is the government willing now to accept weapons from Iran for the army? Iran wants to equip the army like it equipped the Resistance. Iran is also willing to help Lebanon in power generation, roads and huge investments, but that is forbidden because of the American veto which no one in the political system dares to defy."
Hizbullah SG added that those who ask for handing over the Hizbullah weapons to the army want the Resistance and the army to be destroyed, especially that the army is an organized army and would not be able to preserve the weapons in case of an "Israeli" attack.
Terror Balance Protects Lebanon, Hizbullah Calls For Liberatob Strategy
His Eminence assured that what is protecting Lebanon nowadays is the balance of terror with "Israel", and that "Israel" now considers that f it attacked the infrastructure in Lebanon; there will be a response to its assault.
Once the weapons of Hizbullah are put under the control of the Lebanese state, "Israel" will be calmed, since the policymaking mechanism of the state is ineffective, hence the balance of terror will be undermined if the state takes charge of the Resistance arms, Sayyed Nasrallah explained.
Sayyed Nasrallah elucidated that "We need a liberation strategy as much as a defense strategy. Kafar Shouba hills and the Shebaa Farms are still occupied and no one is mentioning these occupied regions anymore."
"We call for a liberation strategy and for discussing it at the dialogue table," Sayyed Nasrallah said, iterating "If the state does not want a liberation strategy it means that the citizens could choose to be in charge of liberation themselves, since the state would not be bearing its responsibilities."
"Discussing a liberation strategy justifies the Resistance, while a defense strategy aims at eliminating the Resistance," Sayyed Nasrallah highlighted.
Concluding his speech, Sayyed Nasrallah assured that the Resistance will remain to confront "Israel", stressing that it is a matter of defending Lebanon's existence and sovereignty.
