Lebanon's army - which so far has sat on the sidelines of theviolence raging
in the country - will join the fight against Israel if Israeli forces invade the country, the defense minister said on Thursday.
"Ahlan Wa Sahlan" - Arabic for "Welcome" - the minister, Elias Murr, said on Al-Jazeera television.
"We are waiting for them so that we can defend our land, honor and dignity.
"The Lebanese army - and I stress - the Lebanese army will resist and defend and will prove that it is an army that deserves respect," he said.
In most of the previous Israeli attacks on Lebanon - including the invasions of 1978 and the 1982 invasion in which the capital Beirut was occupied - the Lebanese army largely stayed out of the fighting.
Twenty Lebanese soldiers have been killed in strikes on their bases during the nine-day-old Israeli bombardment of Lebanon.
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