Hezbollah chief warns Israel against attack

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday rejected claims made by the Lebanese opposition that the Shi'ite group's implication in July's Burgas, Bulgaria terror attack would prompt an Israeli attack on Lebanon.

The speech came after Bulgaria released its findings of a probe into the attack last week, finding that Hezbollah's military wing was behind the bombing. Five Israelis and a Bulgarian bus driver were killed in the terror attack.

Speaking by video link to a ceremony honoring Hezbollah's martyrs on Saturday, Nasrallah stated that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had blamed Hezbollah for the bombing immediately after it took place in July and no Israeli attack had followed.

"The ones predicting an Israeli war on Lebanon are unfortunately Lebanese and some Arab figures, which is based on the alleged accusations against Hezbollah," Nasrallah was quoted as saying by Now Lebanon.

"Israel is a country with a project, with certain circumstances, and it does not go into war just because of a simple incident...After the 2006 July War, Israel has [began to think] before going into a war against Lebanon," he added.

"The preparations the Israelis are conducting indicate they expect serious war, not a picnic," Nasrallah added. "The Israelis are asking themselves: Are we ready for losses like the ones we suffered in 2006?"

He warned "the Israeli enemy" that it should "think twice before thinking about attacking Lebanon."

Nasrallah stated that Hezbollah remained prepared and able to fight Israel, despite Syria's troubles and its current inability to offer support to the organization.

"I am warning the Israelis and their allies that the resistance in Lebanon will not keep quiet over any violation that occurs on Lebanese territory...They know that their energy plants and their airports… [are under threat]. Their power plants would require six-months to repair. Lebanon, on the other hand, is used to lack of electricity," Now Lebanon quoted Nasrallah as saying.

Nasrallah's comments are the closest thing yet to a response to allegations that Israeli jets were targeting a Syrian weapons convoy destined for Hezbollah during a strike near Damascus on Jan 30.

World powers fear that as Syrian President Bashar Assad loses control during a 23-month-old civil war, groups such as Hezbollah or Syrian rebels could acquire arms to use against Israel, including chemical weapons.

"Everything we need for the next battle we have in Lebanon and we keep in Lebanon," Nasrallah said. "We do not need to take anything, not from Syria nor Iran."

Damascus has denied assertions by diplomats, Syrian rebels and security sources that Syrian weapons were to be sent to Hezbollah. It said the Israeli air strike hit the Jamraya military research complex on the northwestern fringes of Damascus, 8 miles (13 km) from the border with Lebanon.

Lebanon has claimed on numerous occasions in recent weeks that Israeli warplanes were conducting mock raids in the country's airspace.