Sayyed Nasrallah: Hizbullah Not Responsible For Drone, Political Settlement Only Solution in Syria

Nour Rida

Hizbullah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered a televised speech on Tuesday, in which he tackled two sensitive issues; the drone "Israel" claimed to have downed a few days ago and the Syrian crisis and its different dimensions.

He first congratulated the Lebanese on the Birth anniversary of Lady Zahraa, Prophet Mohammad's daughter, also on Labor Day.

Hizbullah Not Responsible For Drone 

To begin with, Sayyed Nasrallah tackled the drone issue, noting that "A few days ago, the "Israelis" claimed to have downed an unmanned drone which was launched from Lebanon. "Israeli" media outlets and analysts accused us of being behind this "honor," although we are not responsible."
Also directly, following the claims made by some "Israeli" officials -after the first few minutes following the downing of the drone- some Lebanese parties also accused Hizbullah of this incident, His Eminence stated.

"Hizbullah has not sent a drone across Lebanon's southern border, and has denied these claims by issuing a one-line statement issued the same night of the alleged incident," Hizbullah leader asserted. He assured "Everyone knows that Hizbullah has the courage to take responsibility for any act it performs, especially if it's against the enemy, and a lot of reservations and accusations are not a source of concern to the party."

Wondering who might be behind the incident, Sayyed Nasrallah demonstrated that "the drone's wreckage has not been found yet and no footage or evidence has been provided by any media outlet," reminding that there is no proof the drone has in fact been downed.

Moreover, Sayyed Nasrallah stated that ""Israelis", despite all the technology they possess, have not yet been able to specify publicly where the drone originated from, and rather have different analysis and theories."
His Eminence iterated that there have been no "official" accusations made by "Israel" against Hizbullah, only media analysis so far, adding ""Israel" put certain claims on the table analyzing the drone source, one is that the Iranian revolutionary guards stand behind the drone incident, but this is an impossible and illogical hypothesis."

"Another hypothesis says that one of our friends in Lebanon or Palestine has the capability of sending a small plane over Occupied Palestine, we have no information or index that proves this hypothesis," Sayyed Nasrallah further continued.
"Also, there is a hypothesis that an unfriendly party, other than "Israel", had launched the drone without the knowledge of Lebanon or Hizbullah. The drone could have been launched from Lebanon or any other place with the aim of drawing a direct response from the "Israelis" in order to push Lebanon into a confrontation with Israel amid the tense situation in the region, but there is nothing that can confirm this," he elaborated.

It could be that "Israel" sent the drone into Lebanese airspace, and then directed it back into "Israel", in an attempt to realize a bunch of political and psychological goals especially with the help of "Israeli" agents, Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out.
"I hope that opposition political forces do not play on the "Israeli" issue in an effort to outbid us, because this is a very sensitive issue," Sayyed Nasrallah said.
He also assured "If there is anyone who thinks that the Resistance in Lebanon, as a result of regional events, is in a weak, fragile, or confused position, they are deeply mistaken. We will confront any aggression against Lebanon and we emerge be victorious."

Attempts to Weaken our Position Ineffective

Moving on to the Syrian file, Sayyed Nasrallah tackled several points. His Eminence said "over the course of the last few weeks, a lot was said in the media by others in a failed attempt to weaken our position and play on our nerves," assuring this is ineffective as "We have been living in the heart of the psychological and military warfare since 30 years."

Among the concentrated lies were claims that tremendous numbers of Hizbullah martyrs are falling in Syria, which was propagated by media outlets such as Future TV and al-Arabiya. "Some Lebanese and Arab media outlets spoke about the numbers of Hizbullah martyrs dying in Syria clashes and about mass graves. The numbers that such media outlets have quoted add up to approximately 1000 martyrs. Who can hide a thousand men in a country as small as Lebanon, where everyone knows everything about everyone?" His Eminence questioned.

He assured that Hizbullah martyrs are buried publicly and that the Resistance is not ashamed but rather proud of this. "I thank the families of the martyrs for their historical awareness and the remarks attributed to them increase our determination to continue the path."

Crisis Goal to Destroy Syria 

Sayyed Nasrallah recalled "If we take into consideration what has been happening during the past two years in Syria, and all the international opinions that exist on the Syrian situation, we can see clearly the aim is not to eliminate Syria from the Resistance axis, or from the Arab-"Israeli" conflict. We get to only one conclusion that the Syrian crisis goal has become to destroy Syria as a country, people, and army," Sayyed Nasrallah accentuated.

According to Sayyed Nasrallah, the armed groups in Syria are linked to foreign intelligence agencies and to foreign countries.
Also, he stated that "the chemical weapons "game" is nothing but an effort being made by foreign governments to find an excuse to intervene in Syria and destroy it."
More on to the game played against Syria, Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized that "Throughout the two past years, there has been a flood of fatwas and calls for Jihad; which is not new to Lebanon, such Jihad calls date back two years and have nothing to do with the accusations against Hizbullah."

Polical Settlement Required in Syria

 "The first camp, the Syrian rebels, have resorted to the ugliest forms of combat, slaughter and beheading, all the way to seeking an international political and military intervention aimed at destroying Syria the same as other countries were destroyed, and this approach is backed by religious scholars and political leaders. They are killing even (Muslim) scholars and abducting (Christian) clergymen."
Describing his side as the second camp, Sayyed Nasrallah assured "we have been paying attention to the impact of the Syrian crisis on the entire region and we've been always calling for a political solution. Also, what is happening in Syria endangers the Palestinian cause, urging "We call for a political solution and political settlement for the Syrian crisis."

Addressing the Syrian opposition, Sayyed Nasrallah decisively said "You will not manage to take Damascus or topple the regime as the battle is long although we have never called for combat. You cannot topple the regime militarily and the facts on the ground prove that, although you are fighting the Syrian army and the pro-regime popular forces."

Sayyed Nasrallah noting their inability to topple the regime assured "no Iranian forces have entered Syria until the moment and that Some Iranian experts have been in Syria since decades; any other claims are unfounded," wondering "If this is the situation so far, how things would be in the future should resistance forces and other nations intervene?"

Concerning al-Qusayr town, Sayyed Nasrallah stated that there are more than 30,000 Lebanese residing in it. Over the course of the last few months, the Syrian army has had to retreat from the towns in al-Qusayr. This has led to these various towns' residents having to face the rebels on their own.
He assured "We will not leave the Lebanese residents of al-Qusayr stand alone, and we will do anything to help them especially that the Lebanese state has failed to protect these towns located on the border with Syria."

Defending Sayyida Zeinab Shrine, Grave Consequences If Attacked 
 
Moving on to the religious shrine, the mausoleum of Prophet Mohammad's granddaughter, al-Sayyida Zeinab that has been already targeted many times by the terrorist groups, Sayyed Nasrallah said this is a very sensitive issue, given the fact that certain extremist groups have announced that if they reach this shrine, they will destroy it. The shrine is located in al-Sayyeda Zeinab area in Damascus.
"Some extremist groups plan to execute their threats with regards to the shrine in al-Sayida Zeinab, and if such a crime were to take place, it will carry with it grave consequences," His Eminence warned.

However, Sayyed Nasrallah pointed out that there are people who defend this area, assuring "these people are working to prevent strife, and are not the ones who are creating it."

"It is not enough for the opposition, or the entity that goes by the name of the National Syrian Coalition, to voice its disapproval of the destruction of this sacred shrine. We call on the countries supporting these groups to take responsibility for this crime if it takes place," he called.

Lebanese Aazaz Abductees Away From Political Dispute

Moving on to the Lebanese abductees' case (of Aazaz), Sayyed Nasrallah underlined "The Lebanese government has failed to effectively resolve the outstanding issue of the Lebanese abductees."

He wondered "What do the abductors want? Do they seek a ransom? Or do they want Syrian detainees to be released from Lebanese prisons? Or are they looking to influence on politics in the region in some way?"
Addressing the abductors Sayyed Nasrallah said "You can't pressure us into taking a certain political stance regarding the Syrian crisis by abducting people. However, do you expect us to watch the abductees' families protest, and not lift a finger in response?"

Some are saying that the release of the abductees is related to a certain political resolution being made, but we believe this issue should be kept away from any interior political dispute."
"We do not want conflict in Lebanon, we do not want our country to become involved with the crisis," His Eminence said and concluded that everyone in Lebanon must work towards bringing the Syrian crisis to an end.

Source: moqawama.org