Secretary general of the Lebanese Hizbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, dispelled Arab fear Friday regarding the election of Ariel Sharon as Israel’s premier and said the party would continue fighting him as it fought his predecessors, according to the Daily Star newspaper.
“So Sharon has won. Why all the fuss?” Nasrallah asked during a graduation ceremony at a school in Beirut’s southern suburbs. “Sharon’s arrival could actually be a blessing in disguise because it could be the beginning of the end of the Zionist entity,” he said.
“What has made us victorious against all the previous Israeli leaders will again make us victorious over Sharon our faith, our commitment to jihad and to sacrificing the blood of our martyrs remains alive,” he said.
Nasrallah said Arabs should stop wailing over Sharon’s victory and be happy instead, for it could herald the end of Israel, the paper said.
“If you insist on bringing out the handkerchiefs to cry over the dead, bring them out (for tears of joy) and eat sweets over Sharon’s (death), God willing,” Nasrallah said.
“We aren’t living in the year 1982 any more,” Nasrallah said. “The Israeli army that Sharon led to invade Lebanon has been defeated and fled from Lebanon like terrified rats.”
He was referring to Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, masterminded by the then-defense minister Sharon, and the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, according to the paper.
Nasrallah said Arabs have entered a stage of victories “after all the previous defeats,” arguing that the coming days would prove it.
Meanwhile, sources close to the movement were quoted by AFP as saying Thursday that Sharon's victory could delay the prisoner swap between the movement and Israel.
Hizbollah kidnapped three Israeli soldiers in October and demanded to release of all Lebanese and Arab prisoners for an exchange.
According to press reports, mediations so far have not resulted in any progress -- Albawaba.com
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