Hezbollah’s no. 2 accuses Israel of cooperating with Syria’s terrorists

Hezbollah’s deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem , who is usually referred to as number 2 said the Israeli airstrike on a Hezbollah convoy in Syria’s Golan Heights last week exposed Israel’s cooperation with terrorist groups stationed in the area.

“The attack has revealed the degree of cooperation between takfiris and Israel,” Qassem said during a rally to mourn the death of Jihad Mughniyeh (the son of the slain Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh) , who was killed alongside five other fighters and an Iranian general during an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian town of Qunaitra in the Golan Heights last Sunday

Qassem claimed that the strike “directly targeted the party,” and was an attempt to implement a “new equation” in the Hezbollah’s struggle with Israel.

Qassem said that the Hezbollah convoy was at a distance of seven km ( 4.4 miles) from the Israeli border at the time of the attack.

he added that the territory claimed by Nusra Front militants near the Syrian-Israeli border separated the Hezbollah convoy from the Israeli side.

Qassem revealed that Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah will announce the party’s official stance over the Quneitra airstrike

Another Hezbollah official also accused Israel of collaborating with the takfiris

“What happened in Qunaitra is confirmation that cooperation and coordination between the Zionists and the takfiris is not fiction but reality,” head of Hezbollah’s executive council Sheikh Hashem Safieddine said Sunday, speaking at another rally to mourn the death of Hezbollah field commander Mohammad Ahmad Issa, who was also killed during the Israeli airstrike.

According to Safieddine, Israel was providing “unprecedented support” for takfiris and using its military capabilities to back them.

A Takfiri is a Muslim who accuses another Muslim (or an adherent of another  faith) of apostasy.

Since Syria’s civil war began in March 2011, Israel has carried out several airstrikes in Syria that have targeted sophisticated weapons systems, including Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles and Iranian-made missiles, believed to be destined for Hezbollah.

Nasrallah recently said Hezbollah reserves the right to retaliate for those attacks. He also reiterated that the party may retaliate at any time for the assassination of the elder Mughniyeh.