In first public appearance in almost a year, Hezbollah leader says no Arab leader has the right to relinquish any part of Palestine, ‘from the river to the sea'.
The leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, rallied hundreds of cheering supporters Friday with pledges of support for Palestinians and vicious anti-Israel rhetoric. Israel was “a cancerous growth” that had to be wiped out, he said. “The only solution is to destroy it without giving it the opportunity to surrender.”
Speaking on Quds Day, Nasrallah said “the elimination of Israel is not only a Palestinian interest. It is the interest of the entire Muslim world and the entire Arab world.”
“We say to America, Israel, Great Britain and their regional tools, we say to every enemy and friend … we in Hezbollah will not abandon Palestine and the people of Palestine,” he said.“Call us terrorists, criminals, try to kill us, we Shi’ites will never abandon Palestine,” he added, firing up the crowd.
Nasrallah’s rare use of sectarian language, highlighting the Shi’ite character of his group, is a departure from previous speeches during which he portrayed Hezbollah as a Muslim anti-Israel resistance group. It appeared aimed at whipping up support among Shiites across the Arab world, and reflects the extent which the group feels on the defensive.
Speaking days after the Arab League-backed resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, he said no Arab leader had the right to legitimize Israel, and that all of Palestine — “from the river to the sea” — belonged to the Palestinians, according to a report on Israel’s Army Radio. “No sheikh, prince, king, president or government has the right to relinquish a single grain of Palestinian sand,” he said. It was in Egypt’s, Syria’s and Lebanon’s interest that Israel cease to exist, he said, to loud applause.
Nasrallah has been living underground since the 2006 month long war between his group and Israel, fearing Israeli assassination. He has since made very few and only brief public appearances.
Source: timesofisrael
