Zeinab Essa

Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered on Friday a speech celebrating 31 years on the founding of Jihad  Al-Binaa Association.

In a ceremony held at Dahyieh [The southern Suburbs of Beirut], Sayyed Nasrallah praised the efforts of the Association in serving the people.

“One of the main characteristics of the Resistance is that the military choice was sided by cultural, political, health, social and steadfastness aspects,” he added, pointing out that “Jihad Al-Binaa institution is subject to American sanctions is part of the resistance from the very beginning and we are proud of it.”

Sayyed Nasrallah further stated that “Until 2000, the Association provided great services for the rehabilitation of destroyed homes, compensation and assistance in the agricultural field.”

“Two weeks on the end of the July war, no one was left on streets and this is an unprecedented experience in the human history,” he recalled.

In parallel, Sayyed Nasrallah highlighted that “from the embrace of Jihad Al-Bina Association, the experience of the Wa'ed Foundation was launched with the support of Iran and the assistance provided by the government.”

“One of the tasks of Jihad Al-Bina is combating desertification and spreading the culture of afforestation,” he revealed, clarifying that “over the past years, approximately 10 million and 600,000 trees have been planted.”

On this level, His Eminence underscored that “After 2006, Jihad Al-Binaa’s main responsibility turned to the agricultural sector.”

Meanwhile, Sayyed Nasrallah urged all sides to support the agriculture sector and to encourage farmers. “How much is the share of the agricultural sector in ‘Cedre’?”

Calling for adopting 26 Zu Al-Qa'dah to 1 Zu Al-Hijjah as the family week, Sayyed Nasrallah went on to say: “We are all working to educate and rehabilitate people and to set real plans to preserve the family.”

On the recent Lebanese state budget, His Eminence wondered: “Did the previous governments witness discussions over the budget as it did this year?”

“In the economic and financial issue, Hezbollah will bear the responsibility more than any time ago because of its new and influential position in the Lebanese equation,” he announced, pointing out that “The state budget was discussed in a serious manner and some of our recommendations were endorsed.”

Regarding the recent debate on the employment of Palestinian refugees, Sayyed Nasrallah said: “The accusations that Hezbollah is inciting the Palestinian refugees to protest are indeed regrettable.”

“There is a big difference between the Palestinian worker and the foreign worker because he has no country to return to,” he said, noting that “the issue of Palestinian employment must be approached in its strategic and political dimension.”

According to His Eminence, “The issue of Palestinian employment has nothing to do with neutralizing them.”

“The subject of Palestinian employment must be dealt with quietly, humanely and objectively,” he added, urging “a Palestinian-Lebanese dialogue.”

On another level, Sayyed Nasrallah emphasized that “Hezbollah is not a ruler in Lebanon, but what is going is against its desires and aspirations.”

“One of the aim of the fabrications that Hezbollah is ruling Lebanon aims at making it responsible for all the gaps in Lebanon. Some claim that Hezbollah is ruling Lebanon and controlling the government and parliament. This is the biggest lie,” he said.

His Eminence went on to say:  “One of the goals of inciting against Hezbollah is also to incite the foreign countries, specifically America.”

He also called for referring this incitement to the judiciary because it has great repercussions.

Regarding the latest incident in Qabershmoun, Sayyed Nasrallah confirmed  that Hezbollah has never intervened in the incident of Qabershmoun in Mount Lebanon.

 “We respect our allies and do not pressure them; their decision is independent. What we have done is supporting the position of former Minister Talal Arslan. Our ally is aggrieved and the incident truly would have undermined civil peace and his demand is rightful,” he unveiled.

His Eminence addressed the government by asking: “What logic prevents you from discussing the issue of the killing attempt of your colleague minister in the government?”

“When Hezbollah has a problem with someone, we would stand up in his face openly,” he clarified, announcing Hezbollah’s “support for holding the cabinet session as soon as possible and to discuss the Qabershmoun issue at the meeting.”

Sayyed Nasrallah also stated that “the accusations aims to pressure us to pressure Arslan.”

On another level, His Eminence categorically denied the “Israeli” representative's claim at the United Nation’s Security Council that Hezbollah is using the Beirut port to transfer arms. "These allegations aim at imposing guardianship on the port, the airport and the borders, to achieve what they [the "Israelis"] failed to achieve during the July aggression. "

“We welcome the decision of Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to stop the agreements with the occupying entity, which is also exhausted by the cessation of security coordination,” he added, emphasizing that “ending the security coordination between the Palestinian Authority and the “Israeli” occupation is a weapon that the Authority should use.”