South Beirut suburb attacked
Photo: Reuters
Nasrallah during al-Jazeera interview
Photo: Al-Jazeera
Hizbullah's no. 2: Israel fears ground invasion
Nasrallah's deputy Sheikh Naim Kassem used psychological warfare and said 'the enemy fear ground confrontation'
Hours after Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's interview with al-Jazeera, his deputy, Sheikh Naim Kassem, appeared on al-Manar.
In the interview, which was aired Friday and which aimed at refuting talk that the group's leadership was harmed by Israeli air attacks, Kassem said that Israel fear a ground confrontation in Lebanon.
Hassan Nasrallah
Roee Nahmias
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Kassem, who at first sight seem healthy, reiterated Nasrallah's stance and tried his hand at psychological warfare.
"Over the last few days there were six attempts for ground incursions in Maroun el-Ras area, Aitaroun and other places. The enemy saw that the fatalities will be heavy and this caused confusion over the benefit of a ground invasion," he said.
When asked if he can reassure the Lebanese people, Kassem said: "From a political perspective, we will not allow Israel achieve its targets. We have all means to cause a real political defeat. I can reassure the Lebanese people and tell them that our capabilities will bring good results for Lebanon. That's not a fight over two soldiers or who will score military wins at certain stages. This a fight which will have long-term political implications, and therefore I can tell the Lebanese people that it was them and not us who decided to go to war and that we will prove to Israel and the world that with military means they cannot move one step forward."
Kassem added: "In nine days of fighting, all there have been were assaults against civilians and infrastructure. There has been no military operation in terms of army against army. In addition, the war will have implications in Israel as the Israeli public will start wondering, and we saw that among analysts in their media, 'Where are we going?' We are not asking this."
"We hope that the fight will not last, but if it does we are ready with all our might. I can reassure the Lebanese people that victory is in our reach and that has happened over the last nine days proves this. We are seeing signs of weakness on the Israeli side as people are asking: 'Is it possible that the Israeli army relies on killing civilians to achieve its aims?' The picture is clear," he added.
The interview with Kassem was apparently recorded last Thursday but aired only on Friday. He was well-informed of the battle at the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras, and mocked the Air Force attack on the Burj al-Barjna refugee camp in southern Beirut, which was launched following intelligence on a gathering of Hizbullah leaders in a bunker there.
'Israel hits nothing'
"The Israelis tried to make it seem as though they accomplished a few things; like yesterday, when they said they bombed Hizbullah headquarters with 23 tons, but it turned out to be a mosque under construction," Kassem said. "The systematic attack on Harath Harik (Hizbullah stronghold in south Beirut) had no results, and the same goes for their reports on striking rocket launchers. They hit nothing."
He also addressed the videos of the attacks in Lebanon Israel has been airing. "The Israelis have footage of everything; they can show whatever they want," Kassem said. "However, they did strike civilian trucks and were embarrassed in front of the entire world. They videotaped that and presented it as though it was an accomplishment, but this is not the case."
The Hizbullah leader said the gradual reduction in Katyusha rocket fire at Israel is intentional and does not stem from operational difficulties.
"I hope people won't waste their time counting the number of rockets fired or when and where we fire them," he said. "We have a well thought out military tactic, and it determines our attacks on Israel. The range of our rocket fire has not been reduced either."
Asked when he estimates the war will come to an end, Kassem said that it is up to the US and Israel, as they decided on the war together in a bid to weaken Lebanon.
He answered vaguely to questions on Hizbullah's conditions for the release of the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers, and when told that there are those who believe Hizbullah is fighting Iran and Syria's war, Kassem said "in the beginning of the war there were a number of people who voiced false opinions in a way that served Israel's effort to ignite a civil war between us, but luckily those people now realize they were mistaken and began to talk of postponing the arguments until after the war, as national unity is crucial."
He denied the beginning of diplomatic talks to end the fighting, adding that the mediators and envoys who arrived in Beirut recently were there "only to listen, not to be heard."
"The international representatives presented Israel's terms without hearing the other side," Kassem said. "As of now there are no serious diplomatic talks. The US and Israel want to give the war some more time and then reassess the situation to see if they can impose their conditions -but they may be wrong.
"What do they have to show or their attacks so far? 325 Lebanese were killed – all of them civilians and Lebanese army soldiers – but only four Hizbullah members were killed. Hizbullah will not allow Israel to achieve its goals through this aggression and is determined to continue (fighting)."
