Naim Kassem ( pictured) warned that Israel will pay "a high price" in any future conflict.
His comments, published in a Al-Akhbar , a Beirut daily close to Hezbollah, followed last month's threat by Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah to retaliate with an "open war" against Israel for the assassination of one of his top commanders, Imad Mughniyeh.
Mughniyeh was killed Feb. 12 in a car bomb in Damascus, capital of neighboring Syria. Hezbollah and Iran, its main backer, blamed his assassination on Israel, which denied any role.
Asked if there will be war, Kassem said: "Hezbollah cannot confirm because it does not want to initiate it." He added: "The Israelis know they have to pay a high price in any war."
Kassem also told Al-Akhbar that Hezbollah "is well-prepared to face an Israeli, American and international war."
He was apparently referring to the recent deployment of U.S. warships off Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, a move the U.S. has said was aimed at protecting its interesting in the region.
In 2006 Hezbollah triggered a war with Israel when it kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed three others. The war resulted in the death of over 1200 Lebanese , mainly civilians and children, the displacement of over 1 million people, mainly Shiites, the destruction of 120, 000 residential properties and the devastation of the Lebanese infrastructure .
The parliament majority have criticized Hezbollah for its recent threat of an open war with Israel. The majority says Hezbollah is acting like 'a state within a state' when it declares wars on neighboring countries . The majority says only the government of Lebanon can declare war.
Sources: AP, Ya Libnan
Tags: Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon, Moughniyeh
