Nasrallah suggests Israel behind Beirut blast, calls for retaliation

We will punish Israel not just for what happened, but for what could have happened, because by God's mercy the explosion was less destructive than it could have been."

By CELIA JEAN
A HEZBOLLAH supporter beams at a poster of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during a rally on the anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal, on May 25, 2009 (photo credit: JAMAL SAIDI/ REUTERS)
A HEZBOLLAH supporter beams at a poster of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during a rally on the anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal, on May 25, 2009
(photo credit: JAMAL SAIDI/ REUTERS)
In a speech made on Friday, Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Lebanese-based terrorist organization Hezbollah, suggested Israel could be to blame for the Beirut explosion that occurred earlier this month, and called on not only Hezbollah, but all of Lebanon to retaliate if the Jewish State was found to be behind the blast.
During his speech, he offered two explanations for how the Beirut blasts took place, one being negligence, and the second being sabotage, wherein someone could have come along and "detonated it with a small explosive," Nasrallah said, according to a translation by Lebanon and Hezbollah analyst David A. Daoud.
"There are several entities that could have come set a small explosive and blown up the ammonium nitrate, including Israel," Nasrallah said. 

He added that consequences will be administered to the party guilty of causing the blast, regardless of whether it was an accident or intentional, and added that if "it's Israel, it's a different conversation."
Nasrallah said that an internal Lebanese investigation must be done, as neither potential future FBI investigations nor international investigations can be trusted. He then called on all of Lebanon, in addition to Hezbollah, to respond if it it was found that Israel was behind the blast.
"It's not just Hezbollah that must respond, but all of Lebanon, its institutions, its people must respond to Israel because this is an aggression against Lebanon," he said.

"So, you Lebanese must answer this before Hezbollah, what will you do if it's Israel? Will you remain silent because Israel is too powerful?" Nasrallah asked.
"We will punish Israel not just for what happened, but for what could have happened, because by God's mercy the explosion was less destructive than it could have been."
 



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