Sayyed Nasrallah Speech on Capture of ’’Israeli’’ Soldiers on 13-07-2006
Source: Daily Star, 13-7-2006
BEIRUT: "The whole world will not be able to retrieve the two captured "Israeli" soldiers except through indirect negotiations that will lead to a swap with our detainees in "Israel"," Hizbullah`s leader declared Wednesday. Speaking at a news conference in Beirut`s southern suburbs after the resistance group captured two "Israeli" soldiers, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said: "It would be a delusion if anyone thinks that they can retrieve the captured "Israeli" soldiers. These soldiers will not return to "Israel" until after one means is utilized, which is indirect negotiations, and a swap of the soldiers with the Lebanese and Arab detainees in the "Israeli" prisons."
Nasrallah added: "Of course our officials, Lebanon ... Syria ... Iran ... are all under heavy pressure from the international community ... to release these soldiers ... But we are used to pressure."
He joked: "What do they want us to do? Hand over the soldiers and apologize? What kind of world are they living in?"
Nasrallah also advised the "Israeli" Cabinet, which was in the process of meeting Wednesday night, "not to upstage each other that they can do this and that. It was that same reason that the former negotiations which we were conducting failed."
He added: "The last time we reached an agreement with the "Israelis" in which our longest-serving detainee in "Israeli" prisons, Samir Qantar, and others were to be released, but the "Israeli" officials started the upstaging process and their voting ended 12 [against the negotiations] to 11."
Whatever the decision the "Israelis" make, "we are ready," Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah also responded to threats made by "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who vowed a "painful blow" against Lebanon, and the Jewish (Zionist) state`s top soldier, Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, who threatened to "turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years."
"If they decide to confront us, then they should prepare themselves for a surprise ... today`s Lebanon is different than the Lebanon of 20 years ago," the Hizbullah leader warned.
"This is our natural right to resist. It is the only reasonable way. International law supports us on this. Besides, we never surprised the "Israelis". On the contrary, we have been warning, through my speeches, for a long time, that as long we have a detainee in their prisons, we will try to capture "Israeli" soldiers to swap them," he added.
"This is the only way to shed the light on the suffering of 10,000 Lebanese, Palestinian and Arab detainees in "Israeli" prisons ... who are being treated brutally ... and it is the only way to release them, after diplomatic means, political discussions, the international community`s interventions and organizations failed to release them."
The most recent speech Nasrallah gave on attempts to detain "Israeli" soldiers was earlier this month on July 1, while commenting on "Israeli" attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Nasrallah revealed that Hizbullah "has been planning for this operation for almost five months now. We didn`t inform the Cabinet of the plans to capture these soldiers."
He also warned those "on the inside" against aiding "Israel" and called upon them to "have a sense of national responsibility and patriotism."
"No one should act in a way or speech that would encourage the "Israeli" enemy, or form a blanket for its aggressions," Nasrallah said. "It is time for solidarity. Beware of committing any mistake which would constitute aid to "Israeli" aggression."
He also called on Premier Fouad Saniora to be as supportive as the late former Premier Rafik Hariri was.
"Sometimes Hariri didn`t see eye-to-eye with us and objected to some of our operations," Nasrallah recalled, "but when the "Israeli" attacks of 1996 took place, he acted on a national level and went from one country to another to summon international support for Lebanon."
BEIRUT: "The whole world will not be able to retrieve the two captured "Israeli" soldiers except through indirect negotiations that will lead to a swap with our detainees in "Israel"," Hizbullah`s leader declared Wednesday. Speaking at a news conference in Beirut`s southern suburbs after the resistance group captured two "Israeli" soldiers, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said: "It would be a delusion if anyone thinks that they can retrieve the captured "Israeli" soldiers. These soldiers will not return to "Israel" until after one means is utilized, which is indirect negotiations, and a swap of the soldiers with the Lebanese and Arab detainees in the "Israeli" prisons."
Nasrallah added: "Of course our officials, Lebanon ... Syria ... Iran ... are all under heavy pressure from the international community ... to release these soldiers ... But we are used to pressure."
He joked: "What do they want us to do? Hand over the soldiers and apologize? What kind of world are they living in?"
Nasrallah also advised the "Israeli" Cabinet, which was in the process of meeting Wednesday night, "not to upstage each other that they can do this and that. It was that same reason that the former negotiations which we were conducting failed."
He added: "The last time we reached an agreement with the "Israelis" in which our longest-serving detainee in "Israeli" prisons, Samir Qantar, and others were to be released, but the "Israeli" officials started the upstaging process and their voting ended 12 [against the negotiations] to 11."
Whatever the decision the "Israelis" make, "we are ready," Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah also responded to threats made by "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who vowed a "painful blow" against Lebanon, and the Jewish (Zionist) state`s top soldier, Lieutenant General Dan Halutz, who threatened to "turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years."
"If they decide to confront us, then they should prepare themselves for a surprise ... today`s Lebanon is different than the Lebanon of 20 years ago," the Hizbullah leader warned.
"This is our natural right to resist. It is the only reasonable way. International law supports us on this. Besides, we never surprised the "Israelis". On the contrary, we have been warning, through my speeches, for a long time, that as long we have a detainee in their prisons, we will try to capture "Israeli" soldiers to swap them," he added.
"This is the only way to shed the light on the suffering of 10,000 Lebanese, Palestinian and Arab detainees in "Israeli" prisons ... who are being treated brutally ... and it is the only way to release them, after diplomatic means, political discussions, the international community`s interventions and organizations failed to release them."
The most recent speech Nasrallah gave on attempts to detain "Israeli" soldiers was earlier this month on July 1, while commenting on "Israeli" attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Nasrallah revealed that Hizbullah "has been planning for this operation for almost five months now. We didn`t inform the Cabinet of the plans to capture these soldiers."
He also warned those "on the inside" against aiding "Israel" and called upon them to "have a sense of national responsibility and patriotism."
"No one should act in a way or speech that would encourage the "Israeli" enemy, or form a blanket for its aggressions," Nasrallah said. "It is time for solidarity. Beware of committing any mistake which would constitute aid to "Israeli" aggression."
He also called on Premier Fouad Saniora to be as supportive as the late former Premier Rafik Hariri was.
"Sometimes Hariri didn`t see eye-to-eye with us and objected to some of our operations," Nasrallah recalled, "but when the "Israeli" attacks of 1996 took place, he acted on a national level and went from one country to another to summon international support for Lebanon."
