'Hizbullah has a right to rearm itself'

Lebanese parliament speaker supports Hizbullah's armament; Hizbullah plans to foil attack on Iran.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, AP
hizbullah 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
hizbullah 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Lebanese parliament speaker Nabi Berri expressed his support for the continued armament of Hizbullah, the London-based Arab daily A-Sharq Alawsat newspaper reported Monday. "Every resistance movement in the world works to receive help, and every nation needs allies to liberate its land," Berri reportedly said at a rally in Nabatiya on Sunday. Weapon transfers to Hizbullah were banned by the UN in Security Council Resolution 1701, which led to the end of the Second Lebanon War in August 2006. However, in early August the Lebanese cabinet released a policy statement giving Hizbullah the right of 'resistance' to 'liberate Lebanese territories.' "This creates a new reality," one Israeli diplomatic official said of the statement. "With the smuggling of arms into Lebanon from Syria, Iran's involvement, and the fact that Hizbullah is now a part of the Lebanese government, there is a need to discuss the situation and formulate policy." According to reports in Arab press, Hizbullah recently received highly advanced Iranian-made missiles that can accurately hit targets deep in Israeli territory. The missiles are ready to be deployed whenever Israel or the US will carry out an attack against Iran, the London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Saturday. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said that UN Security Resolution 1701 was a failure because it did not stop the arms transfers from Syria to Hizbullah. Israel says that weapons smuggling has not stopped and the Islamic group continues to rearm.