Nasrallah Says No War with Israel for Now, Threatens to Bomb Tel Aviv if Beirut is Attacked
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that Israel is no longer a nation that cannot be defeated and warned that if the Jewish state bombards Beirut or the southern suburbs Hizbullah will strike Tel Aviv.
"We are now strong. We have become a strong force. Israel is no longer a nation that cannot be defeated," Nasrallah said in a speech via video link on the occasion of the third anniversary of the Hizbullah-Israel July war.
Addressing Israel, Nasrallah asked: "Can you wage war to uproot Hizbullah?"
"No, I tell you," he shouted.
He told the rally in Beirut”s southern suburbs that Lebanon must have a deterrent military force to meet head-on with Israel.
"When we have such a deterrent force, we can tell the Israelis that they will not be able to achieve their goals," Nasrallah insisted.
He said that Hizbullah did not believe that behind Israel”s threats are plans for war on Lebanon.
"But rather Israel is seeking to pressure the Lebanese government against Hizbullah participation" in the new Cabinet, Nasrallah said.
But, nevertheless, he threatened Israel against attacking Lebanon.
"We tell the Israelis, today, that if they bombard Beirut or the southern suburbs we will bomb Tel Aviv," Nasrallah warned.
He said Hizbullah believes that Israel also aims at blocking formation of a national unity government "because this issue hurts the enemy."
Nasrallah described Israel”s ongoing psychological war as "a failed war."
TImur Jumblat, Walid Jumblat”s son, and MP Akram Shehayeb were delegated by the PSP leader to attend the rally in the southern suburbs.