SAYYED Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement, says a new Intifada (uprising) is the right choice for Palestinians to fight the Israeli regime’s occupation of their homeland.
He made the comments on Wednesday in a ceremony held in Beirut to observe Ashura, which marks the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, the third Shia Imam. The Hezbollah head praised ‘heroic Palestinian operations’ against the regime in Tel Aviv, saying such an uprising will exhaust the Zionist enemy and will eventually make it end its occupation of Palestinian lands.
Throughout his speech, Nasrallah touched on the crises and terror threats plaguing several Muslim nations of the Middle East, including Yemen, Iraq, Bahrain and Lebanon.
‘Our enemies do their best to detect positions of weakness across our ranks; however, they will never manage to reach their goals,’ the Hezbollah leader said.
The Hezbollah secretary general once again slammed the brutal Saudi war against Yemen, saying the kingdom is irked by the neighbouring nation’s refusal to submit to its will. The Saudi regime does not favour an ‘independent’ and ‘courageous’ Yemen, and has launched a war of hatred against the Arabian Peninsula state, said Nasrallah.
Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni fighters are ready to make sacrifices in the battle against Saudi invaders, stressed the Hezbollah head. During Ashura mourning ceremonies across Lebanon, thousands of Shia Muslims chanted slogans in solidarity with the oppressed people across the world, especially those in war-torn Yemen.
Nasrallah had earlier called on Shia mourners to support the cause of Yemen, which has been under deadly Saudi attacks for more than a year, during Muharram rituals.
The Hezbollah chief also pointed to the upcoming Iraqi battle to liberate the Daesh-held city of Mosul, warning the Iraqi leadership of a possible American plot to hamper the counter-terrorism operation.
Iraqis have repeatedly defeated Daesh terrorists in various cities, said Nasrallah, calling on Iraqi forces to arrest and jail Daesh terrorists and commanders in Mosul before they manage to escape. Nasrallah further hailed the sacrifices of Hezbollah resistance fighters in their struggles to defend Lebanon.
He said the resistance movement will always be ready in southern and eastern Lebanon to protect the country against the threats posed by the Israeli regime and the Takfiri terrorists active in neighbouring Syria. The previous day Nasrallah said he considers the radical ideology of Wahhabism to be even more pernicious than the Israeli regime.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, made the remark during his annual meeting with Muslim eulogists and the people responsible for commemoration ceremonies during the Lunar month of Muharram on Tuesday. The Hezbollah chief said he considered Wahhabism to be responsible for damaging Islam’s image worldwide.
‘Wahhabism is more evil than Israel, especially (in) that it seeks to destroy others and eliminate whatever thing that has to do with Islam and its history,’ he said. This project was launched in 2011, and it is not a Shia and Sunni matter. The role played by spy services is completely evident here.
‘We should use this opportunity to pin Wahhabism down and deal a blow to it,’ he added. The existent conflict, Nasrallah said, was not between Shias and Sunnis, but with Wahhabism. Wahhabism is the radical ideology dominating Saudi Arabia, freely preached by government-backed clerics there, and inspiring terrorists worldwide. Daesh and other Takfiri terror groups use the ideology to declare people of other faiths as ‘infidels’ and then kill them.
Nasrallah also said what posed a yet bigger threat than Wahhabism and Zionism was ‘British Shiism,’ which, he said, was being promoted by pseudo-religious figures, whom he called mercenaries of intelligence services.
Hezbollah has been crucial to keeping Wahhabi terrorism out of Lebanon, while helping neighbouring Syria in holding back the scourge, too. The Hezbollah chief said Saudi Arabia had escalated tensions to a climax and was trying, with the help of the US and Britain, to portray conflicts as sectarian.
Referring to the Syrian conflict, he said there were no ‘moderate’ armed groups in Syria, warning that all those fighting Damascus were either working with Daesh or al-Nusra, which has recently renamed itself. Nasrallah also said he saw no prospect for a political solution for the Syrian conflict. ‘Developments on the (battle) ground will ultimately determine (the outcome),’ he said matter-of-factly.
Syria has been fighting a foreign-backed militancy since March 2011.
Hezbollah fighters have been assisting Syrian government forces fighting back the militants, including Daesh and other dangerous groups. Nasrallah also renewed on Tuesday his support for MP Michel Aoun for Lebanese president, saying that the presidential vote issue has started to take a positive turn amid signs that the Future Movement leader Saad Hariri might endorse Free Patriotic Movement founder, Aoun’s bid.
‘Some are using the presidential vote to stir up tension between Hezbollah and its allies,’ Nasrallah said in a speech he delivered in person on the eve of Ashoura. MP Sleiman Frangieh’s withdrawal from the race will not make a difference. Nothing will change unless Hariri endorses Aoun’s bid.’
As he assured that Hezbollah’s honesty and loyalty must not be questioned, Nasrallah said that the party’s commitment to Aoun will be proved once the election takes place.
‘We have always been honest, loyal and committed to any political decision that we take,’ he affirmed. The Hezbollah leader stressed the need to intensify contacts in order to reach an agreement on the presidential vote, adding that Hezbollah is not linking this issue to regional developments.
‘For our part, we are not waiting for any regional developments to help elect a president in Lebanon,’ he said. Nasrallah noted that both the Parliament and the government must resume their work, sending an implicit message to the Free Patriotic Movement to end its Cabinet boycott.
‘The government must be reactivated as I urge all sides to attend the sessions,’ he said. ‘The Parliament must also resume its work knowing that there are pressing draft laws that must be ratified.’
Nasrallah called for providing the Army and security forces with the needed support and assistance so as to preserve security and civil peace, saying that all local factions are keen to safeguard Lebanon’s stability. The Hezbollah chief said that tension has mounted once again in the region after signs ushering in a settlement had prevailed a few months ago, accusing the US of sponsoring ISIS for its own interests.
‘A few weeks ago, there was a chance to stop the fighting in Syria through a US-Russian agreement,’ he said. ‘However, the US soon pulled out of the deal. The US wants ISIS to take over Raqqah and Deir al-Zour. The group is being used to achieve dubious US-Israeli goals,’ he added.
‘The US, Saudi Arabia and other regional countries are obstructing all solutions in Syria and Yemen.’ Nasrallah then lashed out at Saudi Arabia, saying that it made a historical mistake by thinking it can achieve victory and clinch the battle in Yemen
‘The world has begun to realise that Saudi Arabia is at the heart of global terrorism both financially and ideologically,’ he said.
