Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah on Friday called Israel’s
construction of a barrier along the northern border a potent testament to the
victory of armed “resistance groups,” according to the NOW Lebanon news
website.
Speaking on Lebanese Liberation Day, which commemorates the
IDF’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, Nasrallah said: “Liberation
day ended the project called ‘Greater Israel,’” according to NOW
Lebanon.
“The project of Greater Israel always aimed for big territory
bordered by rivers,” he said. “These walls built by Israel along the border with
Palestine and Lebanon show that the project of Greater Israel is over. The
project of having rivers as borders ended with having walls for
borders.”
In an apparent reference to Egypt, which negotiated the return
of the Sinai Peninsula in 1979, Nasrallah touted his country’s record of having
achieved the withdrawal of the IDF without resorting to diplomacy.
“The
land of the south was restored to the Lebanese with dignity and without
conditions,” Nasrallah said.
Hezbollah’s secretary-general said the
strategy of armed force has been the only one to produce results.
“The
weapons of the resistance have accomplished [something], but the weapons of
other organizations did not accomplish [anything],” he said.
Nasrallah’s
comments on weaponization came amid ongoing calls in Lebanon for the
organization to disarm to give the state a monopoly on weapons.
Nasrallah
also commented on the formation of a national unity government in Israel, saying
it was the result of domestic political considerations. He warned, however, that
Lebanon must remain vigilant against Israeli aggression.