Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah rejected U.S. conditions for "openness" with his movement adding that it is the one that places its own conditions for dialogue. "We feel a new American stance for dialogue with Hizbullah and Hamas that is based on two conditions: recognizing Israel, and abandoning violence. Is Hizbullah ready to open a dialogue with the US? If so, we also have our own conditions, we as Hizbullah cannot recognize Israel," Nasrallah said.
On the occasion of the prophet's birthday on Friday, Hizbullah's secretary-general addressed a mass crowd marking the event.
Nasrallah pointed to the new approach by the Obama administration in seeking to talk groups like Hizbullah with conditions saying: "When the U.S. accepts to hold a dialogue with any party with or without conditions, it does so due to the (fact) that its regional plans have failed. Despite all this it places us on a terrorist list, but is ready to talk to us and forgive us if we (only) recognize Israel," Nasrallah said.
He rejected claims that Hizbullah is helping Hamas in Gaza Strip launch rockets against Israel saying: "No one can impose on the Palestinian factions what to do, they make their own decisions."
The Shiite leader went on to say: "Some Arab and Lebanese media outlets attempted to accuse Hizbullah of launching rockets in Gaza… we have no relationship with anyone or any faction in Gaza."
Nasrallah also announced his denunciation of the International Criminal Court's recent decision to charge Sudan's president Omar al-Beshir with responsibility for crimes committed in Darfur. "This court never proved that its fair, it works outside the political standard that is why its decisions are not respected," he said.
He reminded his audience of recent Israeli crimes committed in Gaza and Lebanon that continue to go unpunished and unrecognized by the United Nations and the world community.
