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Nasrallah. 'Only cowards recognize Israel'
Photo: AFP

Nasrallah: We'll never be able to recognize Israel

In recorded speech in honor of Prophet Muhammad's birthday, Hizbullah chief addresses American demand that his organization recognizes Jewish state, says 'not in 1,000 years'. Nasrallah clarifies he will launch dialogue with US under his conditions only

Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah says his organization will never recognize Israel, rejecting a US precondition for dialogue with the group it considers a terrorist organization.

 

In a recorded speech aired Friday evening in Beirut in honor of Prophet Muhammad's birthday, Nasrallah said that "Hizbullah is on the list of terror organizations. Even its television stations and its organizations are on the list of terror groups, as well as many other names like (slain Hizbullah commander) Imad Mugniyah, myself and other brothers.

 

"Today the United States comes and says to us: 'You are terrorists and we are willing to forgive you for what has been, under the condition that you recognize Israel.' This is the entire story, recognize Israel and renounce violence. In other words, give up the resistance.

 

"I'm telling you that today, tomorrow, even in 1,000 years, we, our children and our offspring will never be able to recognize Israel. We are capable of defeating this entity (Israel) and can make it disappear, if we join forces and work together."

 

The White House said Tuesday that both Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Lebanese militant group Hizbullah must renounce violence and recognize Israel before they can expect even low-level US engagement.

 

A senior US official said Thursday he was unhappy with a British decision to open low-level contact with Hizbullah and suggested London only indirectly informed the new US administration ahead of time.

   

"They say that the United States is Israel's ally, but we say that Allah is with us, as he was during the Second Lebanon War. It's impossible that we would recognize Israel. Only the cowards recognize it," Nasrallah said, in a sarcastic remark directed at Egypt.

 

"Whoever doesn’t wish to fight should at least not recognize Israel. As long as there is such a terrorist and aggressive entity, we will never be able to renounce the resistance. The resistance is our life, our glory, our sacredness and our honor."

 

The Hizbullah chief said, however, that he would agree to launch a dialogue with the US, but only under his own conditions.

 

No involvement in Gaza?

During his speech, Nasrallah condemned several of the Arab media outlets, as well as his political rivals in Lebanon, who have accused Hizbullah of being involved in the situation in the Gaza Strip.

 

"I stress in a definitive manner that Hizbullah has no faction or organization in Gaza," he said. "We have contacts and faith in everyone there, and just like we don’t like people dictating conditions to us, we don't intervene and dictate our conditions to anyone.

 

"Our status is that of a brother helping his brother, and we will help anything decided by the leadership of the Palestinian resistance," he concluded.

 

AFP contributed to this report

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.13.09, 23:28
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