Sayyed Nasrallah Speech on 23-09-2006
Source: Collated by Moqawama.org, 23-9-2006
BEIRUT: In his invitation last week Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said "Let us renew our covenant and declare our joy at the divine victory to the whole world" and today he rose with hundreds of thousands of Hizbullah supporters who filled a vast lot in the capital`s southern suburbs where entire blocks were leveled by "Israeli" strikes during the war, in the devastated southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday with a sea of flags to celebrate "divine victory" in their month-long war against the aggression by the Zionist regime "Israel".
Nasrallah, considered a hero by Arabs but "Israel's" foremost enemy, surrounded by a dozen bodyguards, Nasrallah waved at the throng who hailed the man "Israel" regards as a legitimate military target with chants of "God Bless Nasrallah."
Some people cried when they saw the Hizbullah leader, who seemed to be in good health on his first public appearance since hostilities with "Israel" broke out on July 12.
Yellow Hizbullah flags fluttered across the crowd and yellow and white balloons were released into the air to greet "the great leader," who was expected to address the rally of Hizbullah supporters and allies from all over Lebanon.
Supporters came from across Lebanon, with many setting off for the capital on Thursday by car and on foot from villages from different areas across the country and areas in the badly damaged south from the "Israeli" offensive.
Nasrallah last appeared in public at a news conference on July 12 when he announced the capture of two "Israeli" soldiers by Hizbullah fighters, an act which "Israel" used as a pretext for an all out war against Lebanese civilian population and infrastructure.
Festive atmosphere
In the ceremony, Nasrallah congratulated the victory of Lebanese Islamic resistance on Zionist regime and said, "Lebanese nation showed once again how brave, loyal and resistant they are." He added since a few days ago, a psychological war against this celebration has started.
They have said the venue of the celebration would be bombarded and the addressing site would be demolished, to frighten people not to participate in the place and ceremony.
"We are the children of that Imam, who said he was the son of martyrdom," Nasrallah continued.
Only a few thousands of Lebanese resisted for 33 days against a fully armed military of the Zionists.
The US, UK bombs donated to the "Israeli" regime, as well as 40,000 of military personnel of four military divisions, the most advanced tanks of the Zionist regime and gunships could not demolish the resistance of a few thousand Lebanese.
`Strong, just state`
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah told the huge number of supporters gathered for a "Divine Victory" rally that Hizbullah would not disarm until the right conditions were in place - and demanded a national unity government in a blow to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and the international community.
Aljazeera further quoted Nasrallah as saying "let us build a strong and just state", and calling for a new Lebanese government of national union.
"We are sticking to and calling for establishing a state but we will never let anyone to insult us.
"The time of victory has begun and the time of defeats has gone."
The Hizbullah chief strongly criticised, albeit indirectly, the anti-Syrian Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who is a key government ally, and demanded that he apologise for his past statements.
The Resistance Weapons
"It (the resistance) has recovered all its organizational and military capabilities...it is stronger than it was before July 12."
Nasrallah said the resistance would only hand over its weapons once Lebanon becomes "a strong, just and capable country."
"There is no army in the world capable of making us drop our weapons as long as there will be people who believe in this resistance," he said. "We don`t want to keep our weapons forever and they will never be used against anyone inside Lebanon. These are not Shiite weapons but the weapons of all the religions and the Lebanese and will protect Lebanon`s independence and sovereignty."
Nasrallah said disarming Hizbullah "under this government ... means leaving Lebanon exposed before "Israel" to kill and detain and bomb whoever they want, and clearly we will not accept that."
"When we build a strong and just state that is capable of protecting the nation and the citizens, we will easily find an honorable solution to the resistance issue and its arms," he added.
"Tears don`t protect anyone," Nasrallah said in a barbed refer-ence to Siniora, who openly wept several times when describing the destruction of Lebanon during the war.
"We will not give up our arms in a weak Lebanese state incapable of defending itself from the threat of `Israel`" he was quoted as saying on Friday.
Nasrallah said his fighters will give up their weapons only when "`Israel`s` threats" end and the Lebanese government is strong enough to protect the country.
Prisoners in "Israeli" jails
"We will not release the two captured "Israeli" soldiers except in an exchange for Lebanese prisoners.
"We do not want to keep our arms for ever. We do not say that our arms are forever, and this is not logical. It has to end.
"But any word on disarming the resistance under this state, this authority, this regime and this current situation means keeping Lebanon under the risk of having "Israel" killing and bombarding at will."
UNIFIL
Nasrallah vowed to the hundreds of thousands of supporters gathered in Beirut`s southern suburbs that a beefed-up United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) would not affect Hizbullah`s ability to stock weapons.
"Blockade the borders and the seas and the skies," he said. "This will not weaken the will of the resistance or the weapons of the resistance."
He also warned UN peacekeepers who are deploying in Southern Lebanon as "Israeli" forces withdraw not to seek a confrontation with Hizbullah.
"Your mission is not to spy on Hizbullah or to disarm the resistance," he said.
One of "Israel's" stated aims in the war was to eliminate Hizbullah`s capacity to fire rockets into its northern territory.
"We were ready for a long war," Nasrallah said. "The resistance in a few days was able to rearm itself and is now stronger than it was on July 12."
UNITY GOVERNMENT
The huge turnout in a country of just four million was a gesture of defiance to "Israel" but also marked a challenge to the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Nasrallah also lashed out at Siniora and the March (February) 14 Forces, who want Hizbullah to disarm and.
The Sayyed described Siniora`s Cabinet as weak and incapable of protecting and defending Lebanon against "Israel" and doubted its ability to reconstruct what "Israel" has destroyed.
"We don`t want to eliminate the presence of anyone from public life. What we are calling for is a national unity government. This is not a slogan; this is a serious project we will work for very hard," said the leader of Hizbullah, which has two representatives in the Cabinet.
Asked earlier whether Nasrallah, whose predecessor Abbas Musawi was killed in an "Israeli" airstrike after a Hizbullah rally in 1992, would be a target if he turned up on Friday, "Israel's" army chief Dan Halutz had said: "I prefer not to answer that question."
Meanwhile, "Israel" responded quickly to Nasrallah`s speech, saying he had issued a challenge to the Lebanese government and the international community.
"The international community can`t afford to have this Iranian-funded extremist spit in the face of the organized community of nations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.
In reply to Nasrallah`s announcement that Hizbullah now possesses over 20,000 rockets, Regev said that according to the UN-backed cease-fire, Hizbullah "shouldn`t have any rockets."
The people
The atmosphere at the rally was said to be happy and festive.
Muhammed Hajj Hussein, 50, said: "Today is a holiday for Lebanon and I have never felt more happy. I am very happy for the victory of the resistance."
Hasan Slyman said: "This is a victory for Lebanon and the Islamic world. I`m very proud and hope the international community will now act against "Israeli" violations and incursions into our airspace."
Ali Sahhar said: "Everyone thought the "Israeli" army was unbeatable, this wasn`t true and today we are declaring the victory the resistance achieved."
Roads leading to the southern suburbs, a Hizbullah hotbed, were blocked with buses, cars and vans crammed with families, with overflow passengers accommodate on the roofs.
"People are coming from all over Lebanon, we have people who came from Iran, neighbouring Syria and some of the Lebanese Shiite men took vacation from their work abroad and came to attend this historic rally," said Hizbullah press officer, Ibrahim Zaaraket, who added: "There are no more chairs in Lebanon to rent out."
"I work at a company in Dubai and I took the plane yesterday to come and attend the victory rally along with my people," Ahmed Zein told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
Yellow balloons depicting the Hizbullah flag festooned the area, but Lebanese flags was also visible in the hands of attendees. Most of the participants were wearing yellow Hizbullah teeshirts and caps marked "Divine Victory."
Some Hizbullah supporters arrived in the southern suburbs on Thursday and slept on the ground to be sure of a place at the rally.
Giant blocks serving as benches had been placed in a huge open plot cleared by Hizbullah among the rubble-strewn suburbs, which were targeted by "Israel" in repeated bombardments during the 33-day war.
Great leader
"I came to see our great leader. He is not only our leader but the leader of all honest Arabs," Fatima Shabaan, from southern Lebanon, said.
The rally is also being attended by followers of the hardline Christian leader General Michel Aoun who signed a treaty of understanding with Hizbullah earlier this year.
"We came to show our support for our allies Hizbullah, this is a victory for all the Lebanese," Tony Salameh, a follower of Aoun, said.
Several pro-reform groups, such as the Marada movement headed by Christian leader and former minister Suleiman Franjiyeh, were also in attendance.
"We came from northern Lebanon to back our allies in Hizbullah," said Shadi Franijiyeh, a member of Marada.
BEIRUT: In his invitation last week Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said "Let us renew our covenant and declare our joy at the divine victory to the whole world" and today he rose with hundreds of thousands of Hizbullah supporters who filled a vast lot in the capital`s southern suburbs where entire blocks were leveled by "Israeli" strikes during the war, in the devastated southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday with a sea of flags to celebrate "divine victory" in their month-long war against the aggression by the Zionist regime "Israel".
Nasrallah, considered a hero by Arabs but "Israel's" foremost enemy, surrounded by a dozen bodyguards, Nasrallah waved at the throng who hailed the man "Israel" regards as a legitimate military target with chants of "God Bless Nasrallah."
Some people cried when they saw the Hizbullah leader, who seemed to be in good health on his first public appearance since hostilities with "Israel" broke out on July 12.
Yellow Hizbullah flags fluttered across the crowd and yellow and white balloons were released into the air to greet "the great leader," who was expected to address the rally of Hizbullah supporters and allies from all over Lebanon.
Supporters came from across Lebanon, with many setting off for the capital on Thursday by car and on foot from villages from different areas across the country and areas in the badly damaged south from the "Israeli" offensive.
Nasrallah last appeared in public at a news conference on July 12 when he announced the capture of two "Israeli" soldiers by Hizbullah fighters, an act which "Israel" used as a pretext for an all out war against Lebanese civilian population and infrastructure.
Festive atmosphere
In the ceremony, Nasrallah congratulated the victory of Lebanese Islamic resistance on Zionist regime and said, "Lebanese nation showed once again how brave, loyal and resistant they are." He added since a few days ago, a psychological war against this celebration has started.
They have said the venue of the celebration would be bombarded and the addressing site would be demolished, to frighten people not to participate in the place and ceremony.
"We are the children of that Imam, who said he was the son of martyrdom," Nasrallah continued.
Only a few thousands of Lebanese resisted for 33 days against a fully armed military of the Zionists.
The US, UK bombs donated to the "Israeli" regime, as well as 40,000 of military personnel of four military divisions, the most advanced tanks of the Zionist regime and gunships could not demolish the resistance of a few thousand Lebanese.
`Strong, just state`
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah told the huge number of supporters gathered for a "Divine Victory" rally that Hizbullah would not disarm until the right conditions were in place - and demanded a national unity government in a blow to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and the international community.
Aljazeera further quoted Nasrallah as saying "let us build a strong and just state", and calling for a new Lebanese government of national union.
"We are sticking to and calling for establishing a state but we will never let anyone to insult us.
"The time of victory has begun and the time of defeats has gone."
The Hizbullah chief strongly criticised, albeit indirectly, the anti-Syrian Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who is a key government ally, and demanded that he apologise for his past statements.
The Resistance Weapons
"It (the resistance) has recovered all its organizational and military capabilities...it is stronger than it was before July 12."
Nasrallah said the resistance would only hand over its weapons once Lebanon becomes "a strong, just and capable country."
"There is no army in the world capable of making us drop our weapons as long as there will be people who believe in this resistance," he said. "We don`t want to keep our weapons forever and they will never be used against anyone inside Lebanon. These are not Shiite weapons but the weapons of all the religions and the Lebanese and will protect Lebanon`s independence and sovereignty."
Nasrallah said disarming Hizbullah "under this government ... means leaving Lebanon exposed before "Israel" to kill and detain and bomb whoever they want, and clearly we will not accept that."
"When we build a strong and just state that is capable of protecting the nation and the citizens, we will easily find an honorable solution to the resistance issue and its arms," he added.
"Tears don`t protect anyone," Nasrallah said in a barbed refer-ence to Siniora, who openly wept several times when describing the destruction of Lebanon during the war.
"We will not give up our arms in a weak Lebanese state incapable of defending itself from the threat of `Israel`" he was quoted as saying on Friday.
Nasrallah said his fighters will give up their weapons only when "`Israel`s` threats" end and the Lebanese government is strong enough to protect the country.
Prisoners in "Israeli" jails
"We will not release the two captured "Israeli" soldiers except in an exchange for Lebanese prisoners.
"We do not want to keep our arms for ever. We do not say that our arms are forever, and this is not logical. It has to end.
"But any word on disarming the resistance under this state, this authority, this regime and this current situation means keeping Lebanon under the risk of having "Israel" killing and bombarding at will."
UNIFIL
Nasrallah vowed to the hundreds of thousands of supporters gathered in Beirut`s southern suburbs that a beefed-up United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) would not affect Hizbullah`s ability to stock weapons.
"Blockade the borders and the seas and the skies," he said. "This will not weaken the will of the resistance or the weapons of the resistance."
He also warned UN peacekeepers who are deploying in Southern Lebanon as "Israeli" forces withdraw not to seek a confrontation with Hizbullah.
"Your mission is not to spy on Hizbullah or to disarm the resistance," he said.
One of "Israel's" stated aims in the war was to eliminate Hizbullah`s capacity to fire rockets into its northern territory.
"We were ready for a long war," Nasrallah said. "The resistance in a few days was able to rearm itself and is now stronger than it was on July 12."
UNITY GOVERNMENT
The huge turnout in a country of just four million was a gesture of defiance to "Israel" but also marked a challenge to the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
Nasrallah also lashed out at Siniora and the March (February) 14 Forces, who want Hizbullah to disarm and.
The Sayyed described Siniora`s Cabinet as weak and incapable of protecting and defending Lebanon against "Israel" and doubted its ability to reconstruct what "Israel" has destroyed.
"We don`t want to eliminate the presence of anyone from public life. What we are calling for is a national unity government. This is not a slogan; this is a serious project we will work for very hard," said the leader of Hizbullah, which has two representatives in the Cabinet.
Asked earlier whether Nasrallah, whose predecessor Abbas Musawi was killed in an "Israeli" airstrike after a Hizbullah rally in 1992, would be a target if he turned up on Friday, "Israel's" army chief Dan Halutz had said: "I prefer not to answer that question."
Meanwhile, "Israel" responded quickly to Nasrallah`s speech, saying he had issued a challenge to the Lebanese government and the international community.
"The international community can`t afford to have this Iranian-funded extremist spit in the face of the organized community of nations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.
In reply to Nasrallah`s announcement that Hizbullah now possesses over 20,000 rockets, Regev said that according to the UN-backed cease-fire, Hizbullah "shouldn`t have any rockets."
The people
The atmosphere at the rally was said to be happy and festive.
Muhammed Hajj Hussein, 50, said: "Today is a holiday for Lebanon and I have never felt more happy. I am very happy for the victory of the resistance."
Hasan Slyman said: "This is a victory for Lebanon and the Islamic world. I`m very proud and hope the international community will now act against "Israeli" violations and incursions into our airspace."
Ali Sahhar said: "Everyone thought the "Israeli" army was unbeatable, this wasn`t true and today we are declaring the victory the resistance achieved."
Roads leading to the southern suburbs, a Hizbullah hotbed, were blocked with buses, cars and vans crammed with families, with overflow passengers accommodate on the roofs.
"People are coming from all over Lebanon, we have people who came from Iran, neighbouring Syria and some of the Lebanese Shiite men took vacation from their work abroad and came to attend this historic rally," said Hizbullah press officer, Ibrahim Zaaraket, who added: "There are no more chairs in Lebanon to rent out."
"I work at a company in Dubai and I took the plane yesterday to come and attend the victory rally along with my people," Ahmed Zein told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
Yellow balloons depicting the Hizbullah flag festooned the area, but Lebanese flags was also visible in the hands of attendees. Most of the participants were wearing yellow Hizbullah teeshirts and caps marked "Divine Victory."
Some Hizbullah supporters arrived in the southern suburbs on Thursday and slept on the ground to be sure of a place at the rally.
Giant blocks serving as benches had been placed in a huge open plot cleared by Hizbullah among the rubble-strewn suburbs, which were targeted by "Israel" in repeated bombardments during the 33-day war.
Great leader
"I came to see our great leader. He is not only our leader but the leader of all honest Arabs," Fatima Shabaan, from southern Lebanon, said.
The rally is also being attended by followers of the hardline Christian leader General Michel Aoun who signed a treaty of understanding with Hizbullah earlier this year.
"We came to show our support for our allies Hizbullah, this is a victory for all the Lebanese," Tony Salameh, a follower of Aoun, said.
Several pro-reform groups, such as the Marada movement headed by Christian leader and former minister Suleiman Franjiyeh, were also in attendance.
"We came from northern Lebanon to back our allies in Hizbullah," said Shadi Franijiyeh, a member of Marada.
