20 - 26 December 2001
Issue No.565
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 20 - 26 December 2001 Issue No.565 |
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'Our fate is to resist'
Hizbullah organised impressive festivities last week in the various Shi'ite regions of Lebanon to celebrate Jerusalem International Day. Zeina Abu Rizk reports from Beirut
Hundreds of people sat under the rain for three hours listening to Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbullah's secretary-general, proclaiming the group's strong support for the Palestinians and its determination to fight for Lebanon's rights in spite of the "US' intimidating campaign" against the country.
More to come? Hizbullah fighters mark Jerusalem Day with a rally last Friday in Beirut as their leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah (top), called for more suicide bomb attacks on Israelis
(photos: Reuters)
Speaking at a rally in the southern suburb of Beirut, Nasrallah accused the US and Israel of trying to provoke discord between the Lebanese state and the resistance. The Hizbullah leader said that one of the weapons the US was using in its declared war against terrorism was "to make us fight each other just like what happened in Afghanistan."
Nasrallah pledged continued support of the Palestinian cause. "We say to all those who tell us 'get out of the battle and you will be safe' we reject the safety you're offering us so long as the Palestinians are unsafe," he said. He added that the US is instigating strife in Palestine, and that it is "our fate to resist and prove commitment to our rights by carrying arms."
Hizbullah's festivities, coupled with Nasrallah's speech, appeared to carry a number of important political messages amid mounting US criticism of Arab resistance groups, which the American administration views as terrorist organisations.
The celebrations were interpreted as a reply to US President George W. Bush's reported comments last week -- later denied by the US embassy in Lebanon -- that Lebanon and Syria will have the same fate as the Taliban regime.
Hizbullah's celebrations also coincided with US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns' trip to Lebanon. The American envoy visited Lebanon and Syria as part of a US effort to rally support throughout the region for its anti-terror initiatives and its recent diplomatic efforts to revive the peace process.
Meeting with senior Lebanese officials, Burns thanked the Lebanese government for its cooperation in the US-led war against terrorism, but also registered Washington's concerns over Hizbullah's military activities.
"We do recognise that Hizbullah has a number of different dimensions, as a political party and as a social welfare organisation, but the United States continues to be concerned about terrorist activities that go well beyond the borders of this country," Burns said.
Burns' visit came hard on the heels of a public spat over US Ambassador to Lebanon Vincent Battle's recent comments during a television interview, in which he said the US doubted Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's contention that Hizbullah was a local resistance group and not an international terrorist organisation of "global reach."
During the Friday celebrations, Nasrallah clearly seized the occasion of Burns' presence in the country to reassert Hizbullah's rejection of the US stand regarding the Lebanese resistance and Arab resistance groups in general.
In his speech, Nasrallah also challenged Muslim clerics who have decried suicide bombings as sacrilege, and called for more such operations against the Israelis. "These suicide attacks are the weapon that God gave this nation and no one can take it away," he said.
"We tell Palestinians: stay tough. Our martyrs' operations are preparing the ground for the coming victory. Do not listen to those who say these types of attacks go against Muslim Shari'a," he said.
"Those who say there are civilians and soldiers in Israel are mistaken. There are no civilians in Israeli society. All of them are invaders, collaborators in crimes and massacres, and it is for this reason that you must continue on your path," he told his audience.
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