Guardian : Hizbullah celebrates 'victory'

Hizbullah celebrates 'victory'

Staff and agencies | September 22, 2006

The Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, today marked what he called the group's "divine" victory over Israel with a vow never to surrender its weapons.

In a defiant speech before hundreds of thousands of supporters in a bombed suburb of southern Beirut, the cleric said there was "no army in the world" that could disarm Hizbullah by force.

He also said his group would not release the two Israeli soldiers whose capture prompted the Israeli assault, except in exchange for Hizbullah prisoners.

The rally was timed to coincide with the withdrawal of the final Israeli soliders from southern Lebanon, scheduled to be completed by the start of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, at sundown tonight.

As well as marking defiance to Israel, the event was a challenge to the Lebanese government.

Mr Nasrallah said he would only consider disarming Hizbullah once there was a Lebanese government strong enough to protect the country. "When we build a strong and just state that is capable of protecting the nation and the citizens, we will easily find an honourable solution to the resistance issue and its weapons," he said.

Mr Nasrallah said Hizbullah had more than 20,000 rockets after the month-long war - double the claimed figure of 10,000 before the conflict.

He told the crowd he had debated with his aides just half an hour earlier about whether to attend the rally. His predecessor as Hizbullah leader, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by Israel in 1992.

"They said that this square would be bombed and this stage would be destroyed to frighten the people and keep them away.

"But my heart, mind and soul did not allow me to address you from afar. You are proving by attending this victory celebration that you are more courageous than on July 12 and August 14," he added, referring to the beginning and end of his group's 34-day war with Israel.

Ahead of the event, roads toward the Lebanese capital were jammed with cars and buses waving yellow Hizbullah flags, while many hundreds of other supporters arrived on foot.

Hizbullah's popularity among Shia Muslims soared after it continued firing rockets into northern Israel despite fierce Israeli bombing.

Mr Nasrallah said he was at the rally to "celebrate a great divine, historic and strategic victory" over Israel.

Nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, were killed in the conflict and 157 Israelis died, mainly soldiers.

It began after a Hizbullah raid into Israel from southern Lebanon on July 12 in which two Israeli soldiers were captured and eight more were killed.

There are currently 4,600 international troops in southern Lebanon as part of Unifil II, the new version of the international peacekeeping force in the area.

The UN security council resolution that led to a ceasefire on August 14 called for 15,000 troops, along with a similar number of Lebanese army troops, to be stationed in the south of Lebanon.