Hizbullah: Obama Speech Signals No Real Change in U.S. Policy
U.S. President Barack Obama”s landmark speech to Muslims on Thursday signals no real shift in U.S. policy in the Arab world despite its conciliatory tone, a Hizbullah official said.
"What we heard is a speech that reveals no real change to the position of U.S. policy in the region," Hassan Fadlallah, an MP from the militant Shiite group, told Agence France Presse (AFP).
"The Islamic and Arab world does not need lectures, but real acts starting with a radical change toward the Palestinian cause," he said. "The problem of Arabs and Muslims lies with Washington”s support for Israeli aggression in the region, especially on the people of Lebanon and Palestine."
Fadlallah dismissed Obama”s speech as empty words that would not translate to concrete action.
"We do not sense any real change regardless of the language of the speech because violence in the region is practiced first and foremost by Israel and by the U.S. armies of occupation, and not by the people who resist," he said.
Hezbollah, which fought a devastating 34-day war with Israel in 2006 and is considered a terrorist organization by Washington, heads an alliance seeking to oust a Western-backed coalition in a general election in Lebanon on Sunday.