Nasrallah: Winograd proves we won

Hizbullah head urges Lebanese unity; Saniora: War report proves Israel wants to attack Lebanon again.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Nasrallah 224.88 (photo credit: Channel 1 [file])
Nasrallah 224.88
(photo credit: Channel 1 [file])
"The Winograd report is a recognition of the defeat Israel suffered in the Second Lebanon War against our organization," Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said Thursday. During a conversation between Nasrallah and Hizbullah's spiritual leader Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, the two agreed that in light of the report's findings, the responsibility lay with the Lebanese people and those outside the country to "unify their positions and opinions in a conflict with the enemy," Israel Radio reported. Earlier Thursday, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said that the Winograd Committee's findings proved that Israel intends to attack Lebanon again. In an official statement released by the Lebanese prime minister, he said that the report calls for Israel to prepare for the next war, which shows that it "has not learned from its defeat." Saniora said that if the Lebanese people are united, they can repel such an offensive. He went on to claim that the report "ignores Israel's crimes" against his country. Later Wednesday, Lebanese Chief of Staff General Michel Suleiman said that the report showed Israel admitted to initiating the 2006 war. On Wednesday, hours after the report's publication, Hizbullah said that Winograd's findings proved that Israel suffered a defeat in its military campaign. "The report confirms what was known by Hizbullah for a long time: Israel completely failed in achieving its goals, and the Israeli military suffered a defeat," Agence France Presse quoted the group as saying.