at_deportie

Lebanese Hezbollah leader sees "absolute US commitment to Israel" - speech

13 November 2009

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hasan Nasrallah has said that US President Obama has come to show absolute commitment to Israel during his time in office. Speaking on Martyr's Day, he went on to say that he was glad agreement had been reached on the Lebanese government, calling for unity and pointing to issues that now need to be addressed. Nasrallah also addressed regional issues, praising Saudi-Syrian reconciliation and Turkish moves in the region and saying that the Yemen crisis was not sectarian, despite efforts to portray it as such. The following is the text of the speech broadcast by Lebanese Hezbollah Al-Manar TV on 11 November; subheadings inserted editorially:

[Speech by Lebanese Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah at the Sayyid al-Shuhada Complex in Al-Ruways in the Southern Suburb of Beirut to mark the "Martyr's Day" anniversary, via a giant secreen - Live]

To the pure souls of our martyrs, we present the recompense of Al-Fatihah [first chapter in the Koran] along with prayers. [Nasrallah is seen silently reading Al-Fatihah] 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 prayers of God be upon our master and prophet, the last of all prophets, Abu-al-Qasim Muhammad Bin-Abdallah, and his good and chaste family members, righteous and chosen companions, and all prophets and messengers.

Brothers and sisters, esteemed audience, may God's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you all. Almighty God says in his glorious Book: In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate: "Think not of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord; they rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah. And with regard to those left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the (Martyrs) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have they (cause to) grieve. They glory in the Grace and the bounty from Allah, and in the fact that Allah suffereth not the reward of the Faithful to be lost (in the least)." [Koranic verse, Al Imran (The Family of Imran), 3:169-171] God says the truth.

Brothers and sisters, particularly the families of the martyrs, I welcome you all on this dear, glorious, and blessed day. We have chosen and wanted this day to be a day for the martyrs of Hezbollah, providing we feel and believe that we are affiliated with all martyrs, who sacrificed their pure souls and blood in defence of Lebanon, the nation, the sanctities, and dignity. We also feel and believe that they are affiliated with us. However, as a part of this nation, of its resistance, jihad, and great movement, we have our martyrs who are affiliated with our organization and family. Talking about the martyr of Hezbollah does not mean that we are talking about a martyr who is separated from other martyrs. This is because he is the martyr of a resistance, which is connected with the entire resistance movement in Lebanon and our region since the first inceptions by those who came before us. It is a link in the continuous relationship with all the coming generations, which refuse to submit to occupation, colonialism, and arrogance.

We have chosen this day, 11 November, a day for the martyr of Hezbollah, because it is the day of the first martyr, the leader of martyrdom-seekers, Ahmad Qasir. He was the first martyrdom-seeker, who had left with his soul, body, mind, heart, awareness, intellect, and love to meet Almighty God. The shortest way to meet God was to perform jihad in His cause, and to be killed on the path of jihad. The first martyrdom operation was in Tyre, which destroyed the pride of the enemy before it destroyed one of its fortified fortresses. If anyone of us wants to understand some of the substantiation of God's saying, "To disfigure your faces" [Part of a Koranic verse, Al-Isra (The Journey by Night), 17:7], he should have looked at the face of the then Israeli war minister, Sharon, who was standing at the ruins of the headquarters of the Israeli military governor in Tyre. Astonishment, evil, meanness, weakness, and feeling of defeat appeared on his face.

For us, this was a great day. It was the day of the good news, the day of praising God, and the day of the great hopes for the coming victory, which came immediately. It came with the blessings of the blood and sacrifices of all martyrs before and after Ahmad Qasir. This is the day of all our martyrs, the guide leaders on the path of the resistance, from the master of the martyrs of the resistance, our master and leader Sayyid Abbas al-Musawi, to our knowledgeable, ascetic, and guide shaykh, the shaykh of the martyrs of the resistance, Shaykh Raghib Harb, and to the great jihadist commander, Hajj Imad Mughniyah. This includes the martyr leaders, who were in many positions in this resistance, those who were in charge of areas, sectors, axes, positions, and combat units. Our list is full of them. This also includes the great martyrdom-seekers, who walked the path of martyrdom and severed all kinds of relations with what is behind them, except their relationship with Almighty God. This includes all the mujahid martyrs, who fell while they were doing their duty of defending dignity. Therefore, this day was a day for all these martyrs, who are affiliated with our march and family since the inception of the march in 1982 until today.

On this day, as in every year, celebration, and commemoration, we meet to express our pride in them and their jihad and our appreciation of and respect for their sacrifices, to announce our commitment to their path and commandments, and to maintain their achievements and victories. We meet while the families of the martyrs are among us. We appreciate and respect them. We consider them as crowns on our heads. In their presence, we testify to all this pride, glory, commitment, and pledge. On this day, we recall in front of our eyes and in our memory and conscience, and we recall and invoke in front of the eyes of our sons, grandsons, and children, and instil in their memory and conscience the names of these martyrs, their pictures, and faces. This is not because they [martyrs] need this, but because we need this. As for them, they have been living, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord, since their martyrdom, since the first moments in which they left life in this world to Almighty God. They rejoice in the bounty and the great and high status provided by God. They are happy with those who will join them in the course of days, those who have not changed their covenant with God, those with whom they have made a pledge together. They loved martyrdom and meeting God. They loved, wished, asked, made efforts, and performed jihad, and thus, by God, they have won.

As for us, we need this because when we see their bright faces, hear their dear names, and recall the march of their jihad and sacrifices, we realize that we have a great responsibility, and thus, we live up to this responsibility. Our determination will become stronger and we will have great feelings of fulfilling the pledge we have made together, and thus, we do not look back. This is because when we look back in a moment of weakness, tiredness, weariness, or exhaustion, their names, pictures, words, and commandments will appear to remind us of the pledge and the covenant, and thus, we will be ashamed of ourselves, bow our heads, and proceed to where loftiness is. We will have nostalgia for meeting them and for reaching there. We need this because we always need insight, providing they are its people, and thus, we will resort to them. This is because we always need truthfulness, purity, and chastity when we become polluted by events, talks, wishes, and ambitions, and thus, we seek refuge in them. This is because we always need a preacher to preach us and to remind us of the reality of life in this world in order to renounce pleasure in worldly things and of the reality of the Day of Judgment to look forward to it and to work for it, and thus, we learn lessons from them. Because they are God's argument for peoples, for our peoples, and for us, and because they have proved their ability to make victory despite the small number of supporters and the numerous enemies, we always present them between our hands and in front of us as a lighthouse and a guide in order to proceed on the path. Thus, we will not retreat or become weak in front of any temptation or intimidation and threat.

On the Martyr's Day, and in the presence of the martyrs' families, the martyrs' sacrifices, and the sacrifices, patience, and thanks of the martyrs' families, we praise Almighty God for bestowing a favour on our people and nation. Because of this favour, we had generations of knowledgeable and enlightened men and women, the people of faith, insight, will, jihad, pride, of those who reject injustice, humiliation, submission, and capitulation. They have defended us and defended our dignity, land, and sovereignty. Thus, they have made all these victories.

Today, we meet here on a part of the land in the Southern Suburb, which the Zionist occupation defiled in 1982. Along with it, it has defiled the land of Beirut, the mountain, the south, and Al-Biqa. Today, after all the years of sacrifices, the Southern Suburb, Beirut, the mountain, Al-Biqa, and the dear south have returned, except that blessed part of our land in the Shab'a Farms and the Kfar Shuba hills, thanks to the blessings of the blood of all the martyred resistance men and all these sacrifices. Today is the day on which we recognize their credit and thank them for their contributions and sacrifices since 1982 to 2000 and then to 2006, when they destroyed the plans of the enemy and the US-Zionist haughty plans, the last of which was the new Middle East plan. We tell them, O our dear martyrs, we are here today, living in dignity, sovereignty, and pride. We live while we feel strong. We feel that the world belongs to us and that we can win in the hereafter thanks to the blessings of your blood, light, guidance, and sacrifices.

Brothers and sisters, after all these sacrifices and this pure blood, we have achieved what we have achieved today. We follow all events and developments on the level of our dear country, Lebanon, and on the level of the region and the world. Under no circumstances, we can isolate events in our country from the events in the region and the world. This is because we here face and tackle realistic issues of life, existence, and fate. These are not philosophical or ideological issues, which can be divided or portioned.

Obama
I will begin with the general to discuss the special. Before some months, when President Obama was elected and when a new administration assumed power in the United States, many people have waited, many people have wagered, and many people have carried their heads high. They said you just wait because there are big changes, which will take place in the interest of the Arab peoples, the Arab governments, the Arab and Islamic worlds, and the Third World. This is because there is a new leadership, a leadership of change and correction, which tries to add a humanitarian touch to the brutal US policy. However, the reality of this mirage has been exposed, all these analyses have failed, and all these illusions have been dissipated. Over the past few months, particularly over the past few weeks, the expected outcome has become clear regarding the coming years of the rule of the Obama administration. The outcome is an absolute US commitment to Israel, Israel's interests, Israel's conditions, and Israel's security. This is an absolute commitment, which, unlike what he tried to say in his speech in Cairo, does not take into account the dignity and feelings of the Arab and Islamic peoples and their countries and states.

I call on everyone, because this is important, to go back to Obama's address to the people who gathered in the square where Yitzhaq Rabin was assassinated and where the annual anniversary of his assassination was commemorated a few days ago. This is in order to hear Obama's flagrant, firm, and decisive commitment to Israel and to the security of Israel. Let us go back to the military part, to the Israeli-US manoeuvres, which were concluded yesterday or today, and which lasted for three weeks. The US forces, technology, and elite are present in occupied Palestine. They conduct joint manoeuvres. The Zionist military commanders then said that the objective of these manoeuvres is to prepare for confronting missile attacks from Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza. So, the Americans have come for the first time in many years, and perhaps it is the first time since this Zionist entity was established, perhaps, I do not know, but perhaps, to be a field and actual partner in any confrontation that might be imposed by Israel on Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, or Iran. This is the Obama administration. We have not seen such a thing with the Bush administration. Then we hear that a part of this U S force will stay in the occupying entity. It will stay permanently to help Israel in any confrontation of this kind. Also on the military level, since the July war and until today, the US Administration has been supplying Israel with all kinds of weapons, technology, and military, logistic, or technical support.

On the political level, the Obama administration tried to display heroism and said that it will force the enemy's government to stop settlement activity temporarily as a condition to resume negotiations. At the time, I told you that this was not more than a US ploy to waste time and to win the Arabs. Over the past weeks, we have seen how the US Administration, and in my opinion, based on agreed tactics since the very beginning, withdrew the condition of freezing the settlement activity and asked the Palestinian negotiator to return to the negotiating table without preconditions and to negotiate at the negotiating table the issue of freezing settlement activity. Over the past few days, we heard that this has led to a great disappointment to the Palestinian negotiating team. This was a serious frustration. Today, some news media have quoted a senior Palestinian negotiator as saying that after 18 years, we announce that we have held failing negotiations throughout 18 years. When I heard this statement, which was a coincidence at any rate, or because this was based on the will of God, providing that everything is subject to God's will and divine decree, I thought of the figure 18. Eighteen years of negotiations have ended up with failure, disappointment, loss, humiliation, and the continuation of the occupation. In return, 18 years of resistance in Lebanon, between 1982 and 2000, resulted in the liberation of Beirut, the Southern Suburb, the mountain, Al-Biqa, and the south from the Zionist occupation, and with pride and dignity and without any favour from anyone in this world. [Applause] These are 18 years and those are 18 years.

After this, we have not heard the voices of the parties, which support the settlement process, providing I do not want to mention names. These are the Arab parties, which consider themselves concerned with the settlement process and wager on the settlement process, and which used to beautify hopes and dreams for their peoples concerning the coming settlement. We do not hear anyone saying anything any more. The voices have vanished and died away. We can no longer hear anything other than the talk about despair, failure, frustration, and a dead end.

The US side, which does not stir a finger with the Israelis and which supplies it with the most sophisticated weapons and technology, yesterday came and called on the new Lebanese Government, not only to respect the UN resolutions, but also to fully implement the so-and-so UN resolutions. It does not stir a finger to confront the Israeli attacks, disregard, and in fact, rejection of many UN resolution. In fact, it defends and protects Israel, which is the side that breaches, attacks, and violates international law and the US resolutions. It also works to prevent the United Nations from voting in favour of the Goldstone report, which, regrettably, treats the executioner and the victim equally. However, in Lebanon, Palestine, and the Arab world, we have reached a stage at which we can accept that the world treats the executioner and the victim on equal footing. This is because they have always supported and respected the executioner and aggressed on the victim. America even rejects the report, which treats the executioner and the victim equally, and defends Israel.

This is a part of the overall scene in our region today. To all those who told us to give time to the Americans, we say that the American did not need a long time to show that what took place during the election of Obama and the issue of presenting a black man who belongs to the Third World was only a deceptive process, which was exposed and which was over faster than we or they have expected.

On the other hand, the Israeli side, near us, is continuing its manoeuvres and drills. It has also continued to arm itself with all kinds and forms of weapons. It has continued to spy on Lebanon through all networks of espionage. We, in quotes, call on the Lebanese security agencies to reopen this file strongly. The elections are over and the government has been formed. It is continuing to spy on Lebanon by spy reconnaissance planes and the technical equipment it plants in fields, mountains, and valleys, including the espionage device, which was discovered between Hula and Mays. This enemy has also continued to exploit every small and big event in Lebanon and the region, whether this was a real event or imaginary one, which it has made, to exaggerate it as a part of its war on Lebanon, Palestine, the resistance movements, and those who support them in Syria and Iran. This is in addition to the continuation of the psychological warfare, which the Israelis are waging on Lebanon and Gaza in particular. There are also the open threats to launch a war on Lebanon and a war on Gaza. After the government was formed, the first Israeli reaction was that Israel threatened Lebanon and held all Lebanon responsible because Hezbollah has become a part of the government. This is although it was a part of the government in the past. This also takes place by leaking what is termed as security information from some international sides. International sides then come to Lebanon and contact the Lebanese officials or journalists to provide them with information to the effect that there is imminent war, which will be launched on Lebanon. This is a psychological war, which is actually being planned. How to confront the war I will talk about this later.

Another thing is that some conflicts and tensions are escalating in more than one area in the Arab and Islamic worlds. There are attempts to depict these tensions and conflicts as sectarian and religious ones. This serves the plan, not of fragmenting the nation because regrettably, it is fragmented, but of fragmenting the nation further, dismembering it, and eventually protecting Israel by creating enmities and other priorities other than the priorities of liberating the Arab territories, which the Zionists occupy, and other than the priority of the conflict with the Zionist enemy.

In return, we should first have further regional communication and cooperation to solve our region's problems. No one has asked me to say what I want to say now because in Lebanon, the press and politicians usually say that some one is making an initiative. No, this is not the case here. I believe that every Arab, Lebanese, Muslim, and Christian in our targeted Arab and Islamic world wants to say this. We should not depend on America to solve our problems since it is the one that creates these problems for us. We should not rely on it to end our conflicts because it is the one that triggers these conflicts, funds them, incites people to causing them, and nourishes them. The leaders, prominent figures, and the elite of this ummah [Islamic community worldwide] should exert national and local efforts to end their crises. Hence, we call for holding more regional contacts and cooperation.

Regional issues
For example, we term the new Turkish role in the region as positive. Some sides would tackle the Turkish issue in a sectarian way. This is because everything in our region is being viewed as sectarian. They might say that the Sunni Turkey wants to enter the region to obstruct the way of the Shi'i Iran. We are with the Sunni Turkey if it wants to defend Palestine, Gaza, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque before we support the Shi'i Iran. [Applause]
Moreover, we support even communist Venezuela, which stands on the side of Palestine and Lebanon. [Applause] We positively view the new role played by Turkey, which has started to show interest in this region by establishing excellent strategic relations with Syria, Iran, and Iraq, and by opening up to other Arab and Islamic countries.

We very positively view the Syrian-Saudi summit held in Damascus a short time ago. Many thought that the opposition in Lebanon would be sad for that. Actually, we were happy. I do not know how the others felt, but we were happy. We in Lebanon were the first to be blessed by this Syrian-Saudi summit. Any communication or meeting is welcome. For example, the past few days witnessed a development in Iranian-Qatari relations. This is something that makes us all happy, especially when we see our Arab and Islamic states get closer to each other, address their crises, strengthen ties between them, and embark on further cooperation and integration. Here lies the strength that protects our region and world from further fragmentation, dispersion, humiliation, loss, and disgrace.

Within this framework and since we are talking in such a comprehensive manner, we would like to call for a Saudi-Iranian rapprochement. Let there be an Iranian initiative towards Saudi Arabia or a Saudi initiative towards Iran or an initiative from any Arab or Islamic country to establish communication between these two large and important countries in the Islamic world. Let there be cooperation to extinguish fires. There is a fire in northern Yemen today. Some are trying to give it a sectarian dimension although it is not so. Is President Ali Abdallah Salih from a sect different from that of the Huthists? Are most officers and soldiers of the Yemeni Army from a sect different from that of the Huthists? The issue is political but they are trying to give it a sectarian dimension. Therefore, fatwas are issued in favour of the battle. We in the Arab and Islamic world need a sincere and honest firefighter who works day and night to extinguish fires here and there. Fire in northern Yemen must be extinguished. All must work for stopping fighting in northern Yemen. Some are trying to drag it to an extremely serious sectarian war after the sectarian war in Iraq has to a very large extent ended and will be completely ended, God willing. We very sincerely and seriously call for such efforts. I tell the nation of God's messenger Muhammad, God's peace and blessings be upon him and his family: Your prophet and messenger tells you that mending fences between people is better than prayer and fasting. What is the meaning of praying and fasting if there are fires, seditions, fratricide, bloodshed, killing of innocent people, and slaughtering of women and children in our countries?

In view of the developments related to the settlement process, we call on the nation's governments and peoples once again to reconsider their options. On the day of the chaste, mujahid, and sacrificing martyrs, we call for adopting the option of resistance on the national, pan-Arab, and Islamic level and for defending the option of resistance and extending support to the resistance movements, especially in Lebanon and Palestine against the Zionist enemy.

I am duty bound here to highly appreciate what President Bashar al-Asad said in his speech at the economic summit in Turkey [applause] when he spoke about the resistance as the alternative and only option after the failure of settlements. He said: Our support for the resistance is our duty and we feel proud when we support the resistance because we will then be performing our duty. We in the resistance respond to this speech by calling first for generalizing it on the level of the Arab and Islamic world, and second by expressing appreciation for the Syrian president and the positions adopted by the Syrian leadership and people in support of the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine. I tell the whole world that we in the resistance in Lebanon have always taken pride in all those who stand on our side and extend any type of support to us. Therefore, we were not ashamed of our friendship with Syria, the Islamic Republic of Iran, or any other country, government, movement, party, or side that supports our people's rights and our resistance within the framework of this conflict. We also take pride in the fact that we have supporters who are proud of their support for us.

Israel
Brothers and sisters, within the context of the issues I have discussed, I want to say that we in Lebanon also have responsibilities to shoulder. I will talk in a while about the new government, but will begin with the Israeli intimidation and threat by Gaby Ashkenazi two days ago. By the way, Ashkenazi was commander of the northern region when the Islamic and national resistance in Lebanon defeated the Israeli occupation army in 2000. As far as I remember, I think he was the commander of that region. If not, he was there shortly before that. He tasted defeat in the confrontation. They removed Halutz but did not bring a general from the era of Israeli victories; they brought a general from the era of Israeli defeats. They brought a general from the era of the victories scored by the resistance in Lebanon. [Applause] He submitted a report, in which he spoke about tens of thousands of [Hezbollah] rockets that have a range of 300 or 325 km. As usual and as agreed, we neither confirm nor deny this. If it is true that we have tens of thousands of rockets, that will be good. If this is not true, he will then be only launching a psychological warfare against himself and his army and people. But he wanted to take matters in another direction.

The Israelis are trying these days to talk much about war and other such things. They talked about the development of some rockets in Gaza and the brothers in Gaza neither confirmed nor denied that. It looks as if the Israelis want to create an atmosphere in which to tell the Lebanese, Palestinians, and peoples of the region that because of the rockets, weapons, and other such things the situation may develop into war. This issue holds two possibilities. One is the likelihood that he is looking for a pretext to wage the war and wants to build a case. There is a possibility that this statement was intended to go to war. But there is another possibility that this is intended not to go to war at all. How? Some may ask how I have come to this conclusion. Well, it is possible that the chief of staff of the enemy army is telling his people or some extremists in the Zionist entity, albeit all are extremists: "We should not remain silent towards Lebanon and Gaza any more and, therefore, we must take advantage of time and strike because the resistance movements are becoming stronger." It is as if he is telling them: "Look, if anybody wants to go to a new war, he should know that things will not be the way they were in 2000 or 2006. They [Hezbollah] have tens of thousands of rockets with a range of 300 and 325 km." In other words, he says there is no place or city in occupied Palestine, even in the remotest area, that cannot be reached by the rockets of the resistance. This is what he is telling them. [Applause] This means he is telling them that if a new war erupts, people will have to evacuate not only Haifa, Netanya, and Tel Aviv, but also Dimona, which he mentioned, and all Israeli towns and settlements in occupied Palestine. Therefore, this might be an invitation to some hot-headed ones there to calm down a bit.

In the end, Israel does not have any other option. If it remains patient towards the resistance movements, these will become stronger. International pressure and screaming here and there will not do it any good. This means all this screaming will tire the throats of screamers but will not tire even our ears. Wagering on international pressure here, regional pressure there, and screaming here and there will make no difference. They have to put up with this. If, however, they want to expedite war, Ashkenazi is there telling them this is the resistance and it has what it has.

I want to speak about this issue calmly. I do not deny this exaggerated talk about war on Lebanon, but all this talk could have a double meaning, that is, meaning something and the opposite of it at the same time. In any case, we are facing an Israeli psychological warfare. As I said on 14 August, we all want to keep the spectre of war away from Lebanon. We do not want war and this is not the strategy of resistance. I talked about this subject in detail on Jerusalem Day. I do not want to repeat things now because I want to spare some time for the issue of government. The fact is that if we want to keep the spectre of war away from Lebanon, all the Lebanese must make Israel understand that its psychological war is futile and that its threats have no taste nor colour or smell. It must also understand that its new war on Lebanon will not lead to division or internal strife in Lebanon, but will lead to a comprehensive, national, and unified Lebanese position.

Among the factors that can prevent war on Lebanon is one that says Israel should understand that that if it launches a war on Lebanon, all of us will be defending our homeland, land, sovereignty, people, and dignity. [Applause] This is an important, essential, and decisive factor. It is also an element of strength. Since they are speaking in this language, I will conclude by saying the following although I said it many times before: Yes, we do not want this but "fighting is prescribed for you although you dislike it." [Part of Koranic verse; Al-Baqarah; 2:216] It is human nature to hate war. The Almighty God, who created us and created our human nature, says so. But if they want to try this, I will say once again: God willing, through our resistance, unity, cooperation, steadfastness, and the moral blessings of the martyrs' blood, we will turn this threat into an opportunity. In continuation of what I have earlier said, I will recall what I said to finish the sentence and say: They are firm in saying that the Air Force will not be able to decisively settle the battle in any future war. They say this on the basis of the experience they had in 33 days. They could not settle the battle decisively in 33 days. Actually, they could do nothing but destroy buildings and kill women and children. In the meantime, rockets continued to be fired on Haifa and beyond Haifa.

Next time, rockets will not be confined to Haifa and beyond Haifa. They could target what is far beyond Haifa. [Applause] The Israeli Air Force was not able to settle the battle decisively. They said this. They have no choice but embark on a large-scale ground operation. Therefore, they began to threaten us with five or seven divisions. We said yes the threat will turn into an opportunity when these Israeli military divisions enter. Seven divisions are half or a little more than half of the Israeli Army. If these divisions enter our geography [changes thought] here I feel forced to explain this. I spoke specifically, but some people told me it will be good if this issue is better understood. The Almighty God has created the geography of Jabal Amil or the geography of southern Lebanon in particular and the geography of Lebanon in general in order to humiliate, overthrow, and destroy the occupiers and usurpers. [Applause and chants of "here we are at your service, o Nasrallah"]

Let me explain the issue a bit more. When these divisions, which I think are half of the Israeli Army, enter our geography, demography, valleys, hills, villages, and mountains according to the Israeli plan, we all will be there. One of the most important features of the 2006 war was that none fled the battlefield. None threw away his weapon and ran away from the battlefield. The problem we faced in 2006 was how to prevent thousands of young people from going to the south. This is a very important factor. I have read the Israeli assessments of the Bint Jubayl battle. They said: "We did not tighten the siege on Bint Jubayl deliberately. We deployed soldiers around it and kept a door open so that the fighters would run away from Bint Jubayl through it, but we were surprised to find that the door we left open was used for the entry of more fighters into Bint Jubayl." [Applause] We all will be there in the valleys, hills, mountains, towns, and villages. We will be there. We will destroy their tanks and vehicles and kill or capture their soldiers. You do not have to kill and destroy the whole division. It is enough to destroy part of it to fall to pieces. This is the meaning of division destruction. It does not mean all tanks are burned and all men are killed. This is not so in military logic.

Yes, we have an opportunity and we are able to destroy these divisions and these tanks and vehicles, and to kill these officers and soldiers. Some say they did not operate on the ground in the 2006 war. They brought in 40,000 officers and soldiers. Did the 200 tanks that were destroyed in the July war drop from the sky or were in the sea? They were here on the ground. They brought in 40,000 soldiers in the July war but failed. We at that time were not as strong as today. Today - as we remember martyr commander Al-Hajj Imad Mughniyah, God bless him, and several years after the July war - our formations are larger, our fighters are greater in number, and our training is higher in level. We have also conducted an assessment of the war to know the points of weakness and strength. We addressed many of the points of weakness and built on the points of strength. This is our natural right.

Therefore, I say that we are ready. While commemorating the martyrs, whose souls are living and present with us, I make this pledge and I tell Ashkenazi, Baraq, Netanyahu, and Obama and the entire world: Send all the divisions you want. Send five or seven divisions, and if you want, send the entire Israeli Army and we will destroy and crush it in our hills, valleys, and mountains. [Applause and chants of "here we are at your service, o Nasrallah"] This is the big change in the region I am talking about if such a war takes place.

Lebanese government
Now we come to internal affairs. We thank God that the government has been formed after long waiting. I do not want to open the file of the efforts made to form this government because we will be opening a minefield and problems. We are now before a new stage. I have a brief comment to make as a joke. We made threats a short while ago, so let us ease things a bit. [Applause] I ask the Lebanese to go back to the newspapers of the past four or five months to review the analyses, comments, and statements made by the leaders and political forces about the delay in forming the government.

Well, the government has now been formed. After the formation of the government, things are supposed to be clearly seen. The Lebanese will discover that many of the analyses that filled television screens and many of the statements made by political leaders, experts, and analysts now look as if related to another world. In fact, what amused me most regarding the issue of forming the government was linking it to the Iranian nuclear file. This is really funny, especially after hearing some people speak tensely about the subject. We in Hezbollah were largely blamed for obstructing the formation of the government because they said there is something Iran wants to take from the United States with regard to its nuclear file. They also linked the formation of the government in Lebanon to Vienna talks, the IAEA, and Al-Baradi'i. Of course, Lebanon is important and the government in Lebanon is also important, but does the Iranian nuclear issue depend on the formation of a government in Lebanon? This is very silly. There are two types in this country. Some directly linked this to the Iranian nuclear file while others linked it to the Syrian Golan Heights. The government was formed but neither the Golan returned to Syria nor the Iranian nuclear file was resolved.

Some brothers may wonder how Hezbollah could accept the type of ministerial portfolios it got. We answer them by saying that our main concern since the first day was forming a government regardless our Hezbollah's private affairs. We care for the opposition as opposition and for the government as government because we believed this is in the interest of the country. This is all I want to say. I hope that analysts and political philosophers in Lebanon, who are unparalleled in the world, will be sensible when they analyse a problem or a political crisis in the country.

Now we come to the issue of government. We thank God that the government has been formed. What we call for today is that this government should be a government of real national cooperation, cohesion, and harmony. I add my voice to those who say we do not want it to be a government of barricades and mines or a government of scoring points because our country is tired of having to score points. In fact, I would like to tell you that one of the most important reasons for the delay in forming the government was one-upmanship, point scoring, and other such things in some arenas. In any case, let the government be a collective, cooperative, coherent, and harmonious leadership that works together. I would like to announce that the success of this government with its prime minister, ministers, and current make-up is in our interest and the interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese people. Since we are talking about our martyrs, I would like to say that its success is in the interest of Hezbollah and the resistance in Lebanon. We must act on the basis of the logic that says its success is in the interest of us all. We will spare no effort to ensure the success of this government and the success of this experiment. The ministerial statement is not supposed to be complicated and it should not pose a problem. I, however, will leave this issue to government leaders in particular and their sense of national responsibility.

There are priorities we have to turn to. There are priorities we have to turn to.

One of the most important priorities is the living conditions, the social, economic, and financial situation. The psychological condition is difficult. We are one of the people and we feel the people's suffering and pain. That is a priority; it calls for an effort. It is one of the priorities. There is also the task of combating of financial and administrative corruption in State bodies and establishments: that is also a priority.

I will be frank a little. I would like to say that we have major dossiers in front of us in Lebanon. I am not saying they should not be put forward. Any political quarter in Lebanon has the right to put forward any dossiers, be they small or big. That is a natural and legitimate right. However, I am calling for biding one's time in putting forward the major dossiers. Let us be a little patient. Let us take a breather. Let us calm down a little. Let us not move from one crisis to another. I am saying we should bide our time with the major dossiers because if we were to begin with them now it means we are heading for a problem. Let the country calm down a little, rest a little. Now we have the negotiating table where we can say whatever we want, although the only subject [on the agenda] is defence strategy. If anyone wishes to add any topic, we have no problem with that.

Let us discuss calmly any dossier at the negotiating table but let us let this government work. Let us not increase its burden, or bring to it big dossiers, or ask it to undertake huge obligations. I call on the prime minister and the ministers -especially in the Government Statement and in the stands which they declare -not to set big goals which we will be unable to achieve. Let us set realistic goals, goals that we are able to achieve within a short time, because such achievement will give the government confidence and will also strengthen confidence among the various sides. There will no longer be a failure the responsibility for which we try to lay on each other. There will no longer be wreckage with everyone trying to evade the responsibility for it. When we set realistic goals and we work for them together, cooperate together to achieve them, and present them as an achievement, God will be pleased with us, we will satisfy our conscience and please our people, and confidence among us will grow so that we will be able to take on greater achievements and bigger goals.

Therefore, in this matter I call on everyone to cooperate, to show solidarity, and to integrate. On our part -and I am speaking on behalf of Hezbollah at the minimum -we are, God willing, serious, truthful, and sincere in seeking to bring about the success of this experiment.

There are many dossiers which the Government Statement can discuss, but as a result of the shortage of time I will not discuss them. I will leave this matter to the brothers, as I have said.

Issues
There is another dossier which is undoubtedly before the government. It is about confronting -and that is separate from the subject of weapons and so on -Israeli threats, Israeli alarmism, Israeli pressure, Israeli daily violations, and Israel's continued occupation of our territory in the Shab'a Farms and the Kfar Shuba Hills. There is also the subject of the Lebanese young men who, despite all past exchanges have remained in the dossiers, such as the dossier of Yahya Skaf. There are also other dossiers for review, such as the prisoner Khalil Ulayan. His family is being asked to present documents -and those documents are authoritative and belong to the International Red Cross which proved it is alive throughout many years after 1982 [when Israel invaded Lebanon]. That means that all the data provided by the Israeli are misleading, and I used to say that we cannot rely on such information in deciding the fate of any missing person. In any case this dossier is a permanent obligation.

There is a minimum level of national solidarity, national rejection, and national confrontation which the Government should provide or ensure, apart from the big options we may be able to reach through the negotiating table.

There remains one matter. Here in view of our social environment, our society -[Nasrallah digresses]. Some people may be surprised that on Martyrs' Day I am talking about America, Israel, and the big dossiers, but I am going to touch on this issue. Yes, I will because it is a big dossier: it is at the same time a social, security, and political dossier.

Brothers and sisters, where did those martyrs spring from? They sprang from an environment of ethics, an environment of faith, an environment of values. The name is -and perhaps I made a mistake -Abdallah Abdallah Khalil Ulayan and not Khalil Ulayan. One of the two names is correct. In any case we have to get accustomed to this name because the data provided by his family cannot be ignored at all. Those martyrs emerged from our environment, from this Lebanese environment, the patriotic environment, the environment in which there is faith, ethics, emotions, compassion, traditions, and customs. Today there are those who want to destroy this environment.

Drugs
I am forced to speak about this matter in the media because we have discussed it with many political leaders, and we have met with them, in more than one area. The matter does not concern [only] Beirut and the Southern Suburbs, but it also concerns Mount Lebanon, northern Lebanon, Al-Biqa, and southern Lebanon. It is a casual threat to the areas, sects, the pro-government forces, the opposition forces, the political parties, and those who espouse political and intellectual tendencies whatever they may be. It is the issue of drugs. The new thing is the subject of narcotics in the form of pills.

Perhaps in the past it was problematic for a person to find hashish so as to roll it in the car in order to smoke it, or to find a substance to smell. Such a matter is quickly discovered at home, by the family, in the school. Very regrettably, today the invention that is found in the country is the pills. And that regrettably has infiltrated into the preparatory schools and secondary schools -and I am not exaggerating -and into the universities. They take one pill [simulates with his hand the act of putting a pill into one's mouth], and with the second pill they become drug addicts. There are people who sell such pills in the universities and schools. There are people who take those pills knowing that they are narcotic, and there are those who do not know.

They go to the young man -before they go to the young woman -and they give him one, two, or three pills. They make it look like a Strepsil pill or something of the kind. After that, the young man's body and blood crave for this kind of pills, and he becomes a drug addict. Respectable families have come and complained about this matter. They had begun to lose their sons and daughters.

You know, drugs are more dangerous than theft, more dangerous than illegitimate sexual relations, and more dangerous than many other afflictions. Why? Because one can steal but refrain from doing other things, but those who take drugs become drug addicts and everything in him collapses: his value system collapses, sanctities collapse. His own father and mother can no longer do anything. His family and the dignity of his family no longer deter him or have any effect on him: he kills; he maintains illegitimate sexual relations; he becomes a traitor, a spy, an agent; he steals, and he has no qualms about doing any thing.

The Prophet Muhammad, may God's prayers and peace be upon him and his scion, said that the gate that leads to every evil is lying, because he who lies is likely to do everything. I want to use the same expression and say: Taking drugs is the gate that leads to all those afflictions that can take place.
Now, by pushing drugs... [Nasrallah digresses]. I want to talk a little about his background. There are those who push drugs and sell those pills for financial and economic reasons, on the pretext that this is a profitable trade and they need money. Between two brackets: the pretext that people have no jobs and are hungry is a false pretext and it is rejected. That is because when we look at drug merchants we find that they are among the richest people, not hungry and in need of food. They are criminals and killers.

There are those who approach this matter with an economic, social, and financial background. They have collected more funds. There are also those who became involved in the issue because they have a security background. Israel seeks to push drugs in our country, environment, society, and families, and in turn it accuses us of pushing drugs to Israeli society. This is an occasion for me to respond to this matter. I want everyone to hear. During the past week, as a further precaution, I asked one of our dear religious scholars, I said to him: You have time, my brother. You are an expert. Go and knock on the doors of the religious authorities and the offices that issue fatwas, and ask them about this matter from the canon law [shari'ah] aspect. All our religious scholars and jurists have pronounced that selling and pushing drugs is illegitimate. At the minimum , some of them say that he who sells or pushes drugs is sowing corruption on Earth.

I also inquired about pushing drugs in an enemy society, and I already knew that it is prohibited. And our practice was that such action is impermissible in a battle. However, I wanted to ask in order to be more sure -because I told him [the religious scholar] that I will be talking about the subject. And I say to you: Selling and pushing drugs within enemy society is prohibited, according to the fatwa of our religious authorities and grand jurists. That is part of the tolerance of Islam. The Prophet Muhammad, may God's prayers and mercy be upon him and his scion, was once asked: "There is a fortress in which there are combatants, and there are also men, women, and children in it. It is impregnable in the face of our attacks. There is a brooklet that runs into the fort whose inhabitants drink from it. Do you permit us, O messenger of God, to put poison into the brooklet's water so that the fort will fall and its inhabitants will surrender?" The Prophet Muhammad forbade them from doing that and prohibited such action."

When His Eminence Imam Sayyid Ali Khamene'i, (may his shadow continue), talks about canon law [shar'iyah] considerations in connection with weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons, he is not talking politics. He is talking about jurisprudence, religion, and canon law provisions that date back to the time of God's prophet, Muhammad, may God's prayers and peace be upon him and his scion. What does it mean to lace with poison a brooklet from which children, women, the elderly, the feeble, the sick, the old, the young, and the combatants drink? What does poison mean? It means mass destruction.

I say that all the accusations that have been levelled at Hezbollah that it pushes drugs in occupied Palestine are false, preplanned, and deliberate and are intended to distort Hezbollah's reputation and image, and to distort my image personally. Well, perhaps there are matters in Lebanon which they do not follow. In the campaign against pushing drugs in the Zionist entity they designed posters opposing drugs and they put my picture on them. And what did they write on it? They wrote that this man wants to spread poison in your homes and among your families. That is not true.

Because they are unable to control their officers and soldiers on their northern border, those who are colluding with some drug merchants in Lebanon, the Israelis are trying to impart a political element to the matter. Very frankly, I say no. Our canon law [shar'iah] stand to which we adhere, and our religious stand to which we adhere, prohibit the sale and pushing of drugs even within enemy society. Do you want more clarity than that?

Good, let us return to this country. Although the Israelis are after me in everything: in the subject of drugs they put my picture. [Searches his papers] Today according to the [Beirut] Al-Safir newspaper -and I have not seen the report elsewhere -Nasrallah occupies the sea. I was surprised and thought perhaps the young men have done something behind my back and I have no knowledge of it -of course they do not do such a thing. It transpires that the [Israeli] newspaper Ma'ariv reported that there is a fish which, unlike other fishes, is deadly poisonous and is of a special kind, and that prompted the Israelis to call it "Nasrallah," in a reference to Hezbollah's secretary general. [Reading or paraphrasing from a sheet of paper] After it said such and such, it quoted researchers and scientists as saying that this fish is good looking and has an innocent appearance, but one strike from it is sufficient to paralyse a person for two weeks or even lead to his death.

[Continues to consult his papers] They are so malicious yet they are praising me. They are taking a risk when they say "good-looking" and "innocent-looking." I thank them and I am grateful to them if they consider me to be like that. [Applause] And if my sting is poisonous I am ready to sting. We are all ready to sting the enemy who occupied our land, humiliated our nation, and usurped our sanctities. [Applause] But what did they say?

[Looks up from his notes, and smiling, says:] They called the fish Nasrallah. We now have a name in the sea as well [put his sheets of paper aside].
They want to associate my name with drugs and with poison and the poisonous fish. Never mind, that is a favourable judgment on their part because God willing, God willing, God willing, at the hands of this generation to which you and I belong, the holy places will return to their rightful owners, and Palestine -from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River -will return. [Chants and applause]

Let us go back to the subject of the drugs. This issue must be confronted. He who takes drugs is a victim. The criminal is the seller, the pusher, the dealer. He is a very big criminal, and he must know that he is opening the door of evil, corruption, and danger to Lebanon and our Lebanese society. There are families that have been destroyed in their entirety as a result of this blight. I do not want to talk much about its dangers, but I want to talk about the responsibility. We are all concerned. First, there is the government and the State. In those opinion polls they ask...[Nasrallah changes drift of sentence] You know that usually our religious authorities usually say that this is a government that is not governing according to Islam, and that it is an un-Islamic government. They have some reservations, sometimes reservations on cooperating with it.

The religious authorities ask and say to them: Well, if we were going to cooperate with this government in order to prevent the sale of drugs and to confront this blight, is that permissible? And what does the religious authority answer? [He says:] It is permissible, and indeed it is necessary.
I say to you -and I want to use the fatwa, although with you I do not need to do so: All of us must cooperate with the Government, the State, the competent security bodies, and the Lebanese judiciary, regardless of the observations some of us have here or there, so as to confront that blight. We must all cooperate in that. However, the Lebanese security agencies must bear the entire responsibility. Thus when a drug dealer is found out or when information about him is provided, or there is societal and popular cooperation in bringing about his arrest, it is not permissible for some security services later on to conclude a deal with him or to freeze him -because there are people who work in that way. They are few.

I wanted to highlight the issue so as to say: We are all concerned: the Government, the security agencies, the judiciary, and the religious authorities. There is something more serious. Those drugs are going to all the universities, all the secondary schools, all homes, all sects, all confessions, and all areas. They are much more dangerous than the dossiers with which they preoccupy themselves day and night in vain.

[Counts on his fingers] Religious authorities, culture, the media, university professors, school headmasters, fathers and mothers, notables, and the elites in every family, clan, and area. Very frankly, O brothers and sisters, today I want to address all the Lebanese, out of concern for their sons and daughters, and for their security and future. I want to appeal to them by the blood of the martyrs -of which we are proud and which we commemorate today -that we all declare a cultural, media, social, security, and judicial war on the drug trade, drug pushers, and drug dealers. We should be undaunted in this matter by anyone's blame, or by any sectarian, confessional, geographical, family, or tribal consideration, because by our action we are protecting Lebanon, our families, our environment, and our future.

O brothers and sisters [applause]. On Martyrs' Day, we renew our pledge to all the martyrs who defended Lebanon - so that it will remain a proud, noble, unified, sovereign, free, and independent Lebanon, and so that Lebanon will remain part of its honoured and proud nation, and so that Lebanon will remain the country of living, love, peace, stability, and a beacon of knowledge, civilization, and prosperity - that we work together in order to bring about such a Lebanon for the sake of which our martyrs have fallen, the Lebanon which they have entrusted to us. We and you are equal to safeguarding that trust. May peace and God's mercy and blessings be upon you. [Applause and chants]

Source: Al-Manar Television, Beirut, in Arabic 1644 gmt 11 Nov 09