The Lebanese Hizbollah movement said Sunday that it will hit the Israeli army in the disputed Shabaa farms area “as soon as the opportunity arises,” reported the Daily Star newspaper.
"The timing of the next operation (by Hizbollah) in the Shabaa farms will occur as soon as an Israeli target comes within range of our fighters. It is in no way linked to a political decision," said Hussein Hajj Hassan, an MP and member of the movement, during a rally in Beirut.
Hizbollah said that it had been personally targeted by the Israeli raid on a Syrian military position in Lebanon and vowed to hit back at the "Israeli enemy" at the right moment.
The Israeli strike followed a Hizbollah attack on the Shabaa farms area, which left one Israeli soldier dead.
Damascus and Tehran have called on the group to continue the armed struggle to liberate the Shabaa farms, occupied in 1967.
On Saturday, the Arab League, at an emergency summit, said the Israeli strike was "a provocation threatening the security of the entire region" and pledged support for "the legitimate Lebanese resistance," reported AFP. It decided at the emergency summit to send envoys to the United States, United Nations and European Union to explain the gravity of the Middle East situation, said reports.
Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdel Meguid said the envoys would head to Washington, New York and Brussels "as soon as possible," AFP quoted him as saying.
"We are in a race against time," he told reporters after the three-hour meeting.
"I don't rule out that (Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon will burn himself as he plays with fire. The Palestinian people shall not die; it's Sharon who will be put aside," Abdel Meguid said – Albawaba.com
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