Nasrallah to Make Speech Amid Growing Condemnation of Hizbullah Role in Syria
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will make a televised speech on Saturday on the occasion of Liberation Day at a time when his party's involvement in the Syrian war is drawing largescale local and international condemnation.
Political sources expected Nasrallah to snap back at the parties that have expressed frustration at Hizbullah's support for the Syrian army against the rebels mainly in the town of al-Qusayr.
Nasrallah will make the speech after 5:30 pm during a ceremony that will be held in the eastern village of Mashghara, the hometown of Hizbullah military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car bomb blast in Damascus on February 12, 2008.
Liberation Day commemorates the Israeli army’s withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000.
Hizbullah's deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said Friday that the European Union would be making a "big mistake" to label the group "terrorist."
He told al-Mayadeen TV that such threats "do not concern" or worry the party. He did not elaborate.
France this week joined an EU push to declare Hizbullah's military wing a terrorist organization.
France's move could prove pivotal after Germany joined a British effort to make the move. The U.S. has long pressured Europe to add Hizbullah to its terrorist list, which would hamper its operations in Europe.
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