16/02/2010
In commemoration of the anniversary of the martyrdom of its leaders Sheikh Ragheb Harb (Sheikh of the Resistance's martyrs), Sayyed Abbas Moussawi (Sayyed of the Resistance's martyrs) and Hajj Imad Moghniyyeh (Hezbollah top military commander), Hezbollah held a ceremony Tuesday to mark the day of "loyalty to the Martyrs" and remember the sacrifices of the Resistance martyrs and heroes.
The ceremony, held at the Sayyed As-Shouhadaa' complex in Beirut's southern suburb, is attended by State Minister Adnan Sayyed Hussein representing President Michel Sleiman and MP Ali Hasan Khalil representing Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri as well as a representative of the Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji and various political and national forces.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah delivered a speech and paid tribute to the martyrs and their families.
“I condole the Muslim nation for the anniversary of Prophet Mohammed’s (pbuh) death. I would like to condole the families of the crashed plane (Ethiopian plane that crashed last month off Lebanon’s coast) who are still waiting for the bodies of their loved ones to be recovered. On the fifth anniversary of the martyrdom of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, I offer my condolences to his respected family and all our brothers in the Mustaqbal (Future) Movement.”
Sayyed Nasrallah determined the main characteristics of the leaders of the resistance, particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
“Modesty, love, sensibility are among other features, but I would like to emphasize the youth factor. Those leaders, when they were young, had sufficient awareness regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, Palestine, and the Aqsa.”
The Hezbollah chief underlined the responsibility of preserving the will of the leaders, that is to preserve their achievements “which is the fruit of their lives, the fruit of their sacrifices. The accomplishment they left us with is the resistance.”
“This puts us in front of several questions and options. In Lebanon, we always go back to square one whenever there are threats and we do not make use of experiences…We always go back to the same questions; the same questions of 1982, before it, and after it. Questions like: Cane the US protect Lebanon? Can it really? Obama failed to stop settlement building. Can international resolutions and the international community protect Lebanon? Can this community that only respects the strong protect Lebanon by being neutral? Can we persuade Israel through the international community to return the Shebaa Farms and the Palestinian refugees? We’ve read in today’s newspapers that (Avigdor) Lieberman says: Those who think that any settlement can make us return a meter of soil is mistaken. His deputy says: The return of Palestinian refugees is a red line. I find it very weird, brothers and sisters, that in Lebanon we even discuss self-evident truths…Everything indicates that in facing invaders and occupiers, survival is for the fittest. There is no place for the weak in these equations and principles. Only the strong can fulfill their goals. Can Lebanon be strong? Yes. We have proven that Lebanon was strong and today Lebanon is much stronger than ever. Lebanon is strong by means of the wonderful formula with which we face the many challenges: The army, the people, and the resistance; a formula adopted by the Lebanese government.”
Sayyed Nasrallah said that the positions of the President, the House Speaker, the Prime Minister, and the Army leadership clearly express national unity in the face of Israeli threats to Lebanon. “We are ready to discuss the notion of giving Israel pretexts to attack Lebanon but what’s more serious is what we’ve been hearing lately in Lebanon insinuating that the mere existence of the resistance is enough reason for the enemy to wage war, and to prevent this, the resistance should be eliminated. This is very dangerous because it gives Israel every reason to attack Lebanon. Unfortunately, some Lebanese are saying what the Israelis themselves are not saying. They are holding the resistance responsible in advance for any Israeli attack. Is this really a call for war? This is a justification that some Lebanese are giving to Israel to wage war.”
The Secretary General stressed Israel has been living a dilemma since its failure in Lebanon during the 2006 war. “Israel has not been able to impose peace or wage war. What’s been taking place in Israel following the 2006 and Gaza wars is normal; the Israelis have acknowledged failure and admitted that the resistance has grown stronger. When Israel wants to go to war, it has to be conditional. They should be able to accomplish a clear, decisive, and guaranteed victory, not just victory as a possibility.
In Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, we are so strong that Israel cannot wage war on us whenever it wants to. It is not enough for Israel to have a strong possibility of victory because this entity cannot tolerate another defeat. In Israel, there is a problem of recruiting soldiers and many other problems related to self-confidence. I tell the people in Israel that the Iron Dome issue is more science fiction than reality. Some are still questioning its feasibility. Israel still needs time to address its tactics and at the same time, its policy is to stop the power of its enemies from growing. They are following three measures: 1-Threatening with war; if you bring this kind of weapons will do so and so…rest assure, we’ll bring them, that is if we haven’t brought them already. 2- The security measures: Assassinating Hajj Redwan (Imad Moghniyeh) and (Mohammed) Mabhouh among others. 3- Sedition: What hindering the inter-Palestinian reconciliation is Israel and any Arab who hinders this reconciliation is doing Israel a favor.”
Sayyed Nasrallah said threat should be faced with courage. “When Israel threatened Syria with war, the foreign minister, who is the top diplomat, responded. This was intentional and not just a coincidence. I am sure that Israel and Arab regimes were stunned when they heard the Syrian response because it was clear and transparent. Two hours after the response, everyone in Israel was denying threatening Syria. This is an example. You remember (Ehud) Barak speaking about a swift and decisive victory…But what we are hearing today is that any Israeli war should have ‘modest objectives.’ Barak himself said the following two months ago: ‘If you look at the Lebanese border you will find everything is quiet, but if you raise your head a little more, you will find tens of thousands of Hezbollah fighters ready for us.’ When their tone began to fade out, they set the so called “Dahiyeh Theory.” This theory stipulates destroying Beirut’s southern suburb, although the Israeli Air Force was incapable to achieve more than it had achieved during the 2006 war. In August 2009, we told them that if you hit Dahiyeh, we’ll hit Tel Aviv and that we long for war but we do not want it. We have to know that the real concentration of Israelis stretches from south of Haifa to south of Tel Aviv, at a 15-kilometer deep line to the east. The bulk of residents are there, and so are oil refineries and factories and practically everything. They might think that they can destroy buildings in Dahiyeh and that we can barely puncture a few of their buildings. If you destroy buildings in Dahiyeh, we’ll demolish buildings in Tel Aviv.”
Sayyed Nasrallah added that “when Israel found that there war=s nothing that can demoralize the resistance, they went to threaten the Lebanese government and people of destroying the infrastructure. Just as we have infrastructure, there is infrastructure in occupied Palestine. We have one airport and they have airports, we have a few electricity stations and they have huge electricity stations, they have oil refineries and we have a few. The Israeli infrastructure is much more bigger than ours and therefore I tell them the following: If you strike martyr Rafiq Hariri’s international airport in Beirut, we’ll strike your Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. If you hit our ports, we will hit your ports. If you attack our refineries or factories, we’ll bomb your refineries and factories.
Today, on this occasion, I announce and accept this challenge. As people, army, and resistance, we are capable of protecting our country and we do not need anyone in this world to do this for us. This is how we face threats: with more threats, not with retreat, not with fear, but with steadfastness and threats. We have never sought war but we have the responsibility to defend our country and to stand firm on our land.”
On martyr Imad Moghniyeh’s assassination, the resistance leader said: “Today, on the anniversary in memory of Imad, I say that we seek revenge as big as Imad Mugniyah. That is what we want. Not revenge for the sake of revenge, but in order to defend all of our leaders. In the last couple of years, we had lots of small opportunities to avenge Hajj Redwan’s death, but we did not go for them, because the killing we want to avenge is Imad Moghniyeh’s. Our enemy is anxious, let him stay anxious. We will choose the time, the place and the target which we want to be worthy of the martyrdom of Imad Moghniyeh.”
“We are loyal to the path of our leaders and we tell our martyrs that they can rest assure that their path will always be open and the cause they sacrificed their lives for will be fulfilled. We are your sons and your brothers and we will fulfill your dreams God willing.”
River to Sea
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