Nasrallah Claims Labbouneh Blast, Says Hizbullah Will Confront Any Future Violations
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah Wednesday claimed last week's Labbouneh blasts that wounded four Israeli soldiers, saying his party "will face" any further border violations by the Jewish state.
"We had prior information that the Israelis were going to pass through this zone. Bombs were placed there and when they came that night, they were detonated," Nasrallah told Beirut-based satellite television station al-Mayadeen.
He explained: “What happened in (the southern town of) Labbouneh took place under the sight to the resistance’s fighters and we already knew Israelis would cross into Lebanese territories and thus, we have planted explosive devices there.”
“It is a newly planted bomb and not an Israeli remnant of the July 2006 war. The incidence was an intended operation and did not happen by coincidence. We took the decision to target Israelis in Labbouneh because the border is under the control of the Lebanese army and the state.”
The Lebanese army said last week that a group of Israeli soldiers crossed the border into the southern area of Labbouneh near Naqoura and were wounded in an explosion which reports have said was caused by a landmine.
The communique said the Israeli troops reached as far as 400 meters inside Lebanon.
Nasrallah said the Israeli troops' advancement into Lebanon is “a clear violation.”
The Hizbullah chief also vowed to “confront any further violations of Lebanon's sovereignty.”
"We will not accept Israeli violations of our territory," Nasrallah warned. "As soon as we know that the Israelis have entered Lebanese territory, the party will face (them) in timely fashion."
“No official texts say we do not have the right to confront anyone that violates our land. We have the right not to stay silent after violations and these are violations with goals.”
Nasrallah, however, criticized President Michel Suleiman's stance after the incidence, saying that he had a “weak position.”
Suleiman had urged the Lebanese Army and United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon leaderships to expand the investigation into the infiltration of an Israeli patrol into southern Lebanon.
On the eve of the end of the 2006 war against Israel, Nasrallah recalled in his interview the preparations that preceded the war and admitted receiving weapons from Syria.
"We owe Syria this and we have to admit that we did receive weapons from the neighboring country," he said.
Nasrallah added: "The Syrian regime received our people, supported us and opened its weapon stocks to the resistance. The regime was even ready to fight with us."
“After May 25, 2000, people celebrated the liberation but we considered that we should start readying ourselves for any war waged by Israel,” he noted.
He continued: “When the kidnap of the two Israeli soldiers took place, our fighters were ready and logistically we were also ready for any war. And during the 33 days of fighting, the resistance was not confused or lost on ground or in managing the operations because this was already planned.”
Nasrallah pointed out that what safeguarded Beirut in 2006 was the resistance “and not a political decision.”
He also considered that the weak point of Israel was represented in the losses it suffered.
“What counts in winning or losing a battle is the amount of losses,” Nasrallah expressed.
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