Sayyed Nasrallah Slams Arab Silence on Palestinian Prisoners’ Hunger Strike: Lebanon on Edge of Abyss

Zeinab Essa

Hezbollah Secretary General, His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, delivered a speech in which he tackled various political and regional topics.

"The calm situation was achieved by the sacrifices made. We shouldn't allow any security breach to waste our efforts," Hezbollah Secretary General confirmed, warning that "the relatively calm situation doesn't mean that security threats have ceased."

In this context, His Eminence clarified that "Arsal's outskirts and part of Western Qalamoun remain unstable, and the situation would be resolved in the coming stage," noting that "Lebanon's borders have all been secured against military threats in the south, north, east and west, while the security threats have largely decreased because the Takfiris have been deprived of launch-pads."

Once again, His Eminence reiterated: "The tripartite equation of the ‘Army, people, and Resistance' keeps Lebanon safe."

"As for stability in Lebanon, we must be the people who are most keen on it, because it was made through sacrifices. There are martyrs and wounded who achieved this accomplishment, and any attempt to tamper with security must not be tolerated," he went on to say.

Moving to the Lebanese internal political debate over the parliamentary electoral law, Sayyed Nasrallah highlighted that "a lot of forces are approaching the electoral law as if it is an issue of ‘life or death' and they are right in their approach."

According to His Eminence, "There are those who exploit the electoral law to settle political accounts, score points, or sabotage alliances."

In parallel, he cautioned that "throughout the past few months and weeks, there has been attempts to accuse Hezbollah of seeking to prevent Christians from electing their MPs with their own votes."

In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah revealed that "the other accusation is that Hezbollah does not want an electoral law that gives the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces a third of parliament."

"I say that these are baseless accusations," he confirmed, refuting all claims that "Hezbollah wants to impose full proportional representation on the Lebanese through its weapons and military might."

Expressing understanding to the concerns of all sects, particularly Druze and Christians, he stressed that "dialogue was the only means to consensus."

"We do not want to impose an electoral law on any sect, neither through weapons nor through street protests," Sayyed Nasrallah assured.

The Resistance Leader also elaborated that his party has been calling for proportional representation since it entered parliament in 1992, and its stance is based on the national interest.

"We want the fairest and most just representation, and our stance is not partisan or sectarian," he affirmed, pointing out that "political maneuvers are over, and Lebanon is on the edge of the abyss, and everyone has to take full responsibility and (throwing) the responsibility at each other does not benefit us."

Meanwhile, Sayyed Nasrallah warned: "If we don't reach a result all the alternatives are bad, from vacuum to the extension of Parliament's term to 1960 majoritarian system."
He called on the Lebanese sides not to push the country off the edge "because no one will be there to aid us. No one has time for us due to the situation in the world and the region."

"This is not a joke. The country's fate is within our hands," he advised them, revealing that all parties had placed their proposals out on the table and now it's time to assume responsibilities.

Moving to the regional front, His Eminence slammed the Arab - and particularly the Arab League's - silence on the plight of hundreds of Palestinians on hunger strike inside "Israeli" jails.

"Palestinian hunger strikers are only demanding their basic rights as prisoners in "Israeli" jails. Where are Arab leaders and Muslim organizations to see the situation of Palestinian hunger strikers?" Sayyed Nasrallah wondered.

"The "Israeli" disregard for the Palestinian prisoners' strike is expected, but the surprise is the silence of the official and popular Arab element," he said, noting that "if the prisoners' strike took place in a country that is a US ally or a country that belongs to the United States, the world would have moved."

Renewing the Resistance's unstinting support for the Palestinian inmates, he stated that the "Israeli" apartheid entity hopes that Palestinian hunger strikers would eventually abandon their struggle as time goes on.

On another level, he warned that "there are Arab satellite channels that currently support Daesh [Arab Acronym for the terrorist "ISIS"/ "ISIL" group] in the face of the Iraqi forces, because the goal is to make Iraq part of the American scene."

Regarding Yemen, His Eminence slammed the fact that "although the United Nations has recognized the death of millions of Yemenis from starvation and its knowledge that Saudi Arabia - a US ally - is the perpetrator, no one dares to say a rightful word."

Similarly, Sayyed Nasrallah shed light on the international double standards on the Syrian front: "Despite its horror, the massacre of al-Rashidin neighborhood did not move the consciences of the world at a time when the incident of Khan Sheikhon did despite the lack of evidence."

He also underscored that "The Americans do not accept an investigatory commission to convict the chemical killer in Khan Sheikhon."

In addition, the Resistance Leader stated: "The Takfiri groups are a danger to the Sunnis and their community before being a danger to other sects," reiterating that "if the terrorists had spread their control, Syria would have faced civil war in every town and region."

In this context, His Eminence cited the continuous battles between the terrorist groups themselves in Syria as well as in the Arsal outskirts: "The Takfiris - neither do they keep a promise, nor do they guarantee (things) to each other, and the infighting taking place between Daesh and the Nusra Front is an example."

"The survival of the fittest strategy prevails in this world, and the real bet of the resistance should be on its own strength rather than waiting for solidarity from the international community," Sayyed Nasrallah added, pointing out that "all Lebanese victories against "Israel" and the Takfiris are not because of the international community, but because of the sacrifices of the resistance."

According to His Eminence, "Every moment that passes in Syria is a moment of victory, because those who fought and stood firm will not allow the terrorist groups to overthrow the state and disband the army. This is a great victory."

In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah highlighted that "day after another we are more confident that our engagement in Syria is rightful."