"The history of Israel is a black history, a hateful one, of destruction," said Hariri, in a speech praising the Lebanese army for moving into south Lebanon.

"Israeli attacks can destroy Lebanon (physically) but will not touch Lebanese unity," the legislator said.

He said Israel had a history of "living off the blood" of Palestinians, Lebanese and other Arab people.

But Hariri made a fierce attack on Syrian President Bashar Assad by accusing him of trying to sow strife in Lebanon.

He was responding to a speech Tuesday by the Syrian leader in which he accused the anti-Syrian March 14 alliance of inciting strife in the country by asking Hizbullah to lay down its arms.

"The speech was an incitement for sedition in Lebanon. The Syrian president has hurt his position, Syria's and Lebanon's," he said in a speech to his Future Movement's supporters.

In his speech, Assad attacked Israel and its prime supporter, the United States, and said U.S. plans for a new Middle East have become an illusion following what he described as a victory by the Iranian and Syrian-backed Hizbullah against Israel in the July 12-Aug 14 fighting.

Hariri called on the Lebanese to rally behind Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government.

He went on to attack Syria's domestic and regional policies.

"The Syrian regime is exploiting the blood of Qana and Gaza and Baghdad to bring sedition to Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq so that the Muhajereen Palace now deserves to be called the 'Mutajereen' palace," he said playing on words. Muhajereen is the presidential palace in Damascus, while Mutajereen means exploiters.

That was a reference to Qana, where 28 Lebanese civilians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on July 30. Syria also was accused of stirring up trouble in Iraq.

Hariri also accused Assad of trying to rob Lebanon of its "victory" against Israel while failing to fight for the occupied Golan Heights.

"We feel sad when the Syrian president tries to steal the victory of Lebanon," he said.

"He wants to be a partner in the confrontation against the Israeli occupation, but we would have hoped that he practiced this partnership on the occupied Golan Heights front," he said, as the audience applauded loudly.

"We would have hoped that he would break the silence -- even for one time only -- the terrible and long-standing silence on this front that remains so dear to the hearts of all the Arabs," said the son of assassinated former prime minister Rafik Hariri.(AP-AFP-Naharnet)