Haaretz
Av 5, 5766
Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah on
Saturday vowed to fire rockets on communities in central Israel if the
military operation in Lebanon continued, and accused Israel of being an
American "slave."
"The bombardment of Afula and its military base
is the beginning ... Many
cities in the center [of Israel] will be
targeted in the 'beyond Haifa' phase if the savage aggression continues on
our country, people and villages," Nasrallah said in a speech aired on
Hezbollah's Al-Manar television.
"The Israelis are ready to halt
the aggression because they are afraid of the unknown. The one pushing for
the continuation of the aggression is the U.S. administration. Israel has
been exposed as a slave of the U.S.," he said.
"There are
developments on the diplomatic front, and attempts to end the crisis,
thanks to our strong position. The enemy attained no military
achievements. They admit this," Nasrallah said, claiming that Israel
suffered a "serious defeat" in ground fighting around Bint
Jbial.
Nasrallah said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice aimed to
impose conditions on Lebanon and to serve Israeli interests during her
diplomatic mission to the region.
"Now Ms. Rice is returning to the
region to try and impose her conditions again on Lebanon to serve her
project, the new Middle East and to serve Israel," he
said.
Nasrallah pledged to cooperate with the Lebanese government,
which has presented a peace package that could lead to the eventual
disarming of Hezbollah. The guerrilla group's politicians in the
government agreed to the package.
Nasrallah did not mention the
proposals specifically. But he suggested that Hezbollah would not follow
through with disarmament if the government compromises on conditions
outlined in the Lebanese proposal.
"We are keen to cooperate with
the government," Nasrallah said. But "for Lebanon to win the battle, it
needs political will no less than the will of the resistance fighters in
the field ... The government is required to act in a way that reflects the
Lebanese people's steadfastness and unity," he said.
"We have a
historic opportunity in Lebanon to liberate every inch of our land, regain
of our prisoners and guarantee our national sovereignty, so that our
skies, water, land and our people are no longer subject to Zionist
violation and aggression," he said.