Nasrallah: Israel is the root of the problem in the Middle East

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah appeared again today on TV via video link to address the annual ceremony commemorating the  party’s martyrs:

“The Egyptian people’s victory against the regime coincided with the anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran. It’s appropriate that it should be a day for the fall of two of the U.S.’ most powerful allies: The Shah in Iran and Mubarak in Egypt. ” He said

Nasrallah saluted Sami Shehab the head of the Hezbollah cell in Egypt who had fled the country during the Cairo protests and who attended today’s rally

Nasrallah launched an attack against March 14 alliance and responded to the Monday speeches of their leaders on the occasion of the 6th anniversary of the assassination of lebanon’s former Pm Rafik Hariri by saying :

– The country cannot remain without a Cabinet if the other camp does not take part in government. Let a government that tackles the people’s concerns be established.

– The previous government functioned for a whole year achieving nothing. Lebanon is in need of a government that understands the people and whose army wages battle along with them.

– No it is not going to be a Hezbollah Government

– The current majority is the real one. The parliamentary majority has returned to the popular majority that was achieved in 2009.

– The American project that they have been working for is falling apart and I call on them to reconsider their decisions and not waste time in pinpointing errors.

– Returning to the roots means admitting mistakes, the greatest of which is depending on the American project.

– What the other camp has been subject to is the result of its mistakes, compliance with the American project in the region, and ties to Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

– You want to proceed with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon ( STL) that has ignored all possibilities and which is rife with false witnesses and politicization.

– From day one, the investigation took on a certain direction and for a while now, they have taken it into a different one.

– There is another route to reach the truth which lies in discussing the issue, but you have wasted this opportunity.

– Our acceptance of the national dialogue was a concession for the country’s interest and we are now ready for dialogue.

– The weapons are a detail and the main dispute lies in explaining the Resistance’s role.

– The March 14 camp is determined to bring up the issue of the party’s arms and it has never really abandoned it. Yes, the weapons are an issue of national dispute.

Addressing US president Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the situation in the Middle East he said Israel is the root of the problem.

– The main problem in the region is 60 years old

– The first part is the existence of Israel and the latter is who started the wars.

– Israel is the one that killed and slaughtered, confiscated the lands and kicked people out, with sponsorship from the West.

– Israel is the one that stole Syrian and Lebanese properties .

– Israel is the one that drove the Palestinians out of their homeland

– The resisting movements did not attack anyone… but was attacked.

– Justice means that property should be returned to its owners.

– Peace and stability based on oppression and on exploiting the rights of others cannot achieve justice.

– Searching for justice through peace talks…this cannot achieve peace.

– Once justice is achieved , there will be stability in the region.

He said the US mission in the Middle east is to protect its interest and those of Israel

– The mission of this system is to protect its interests and those of Israel.

– The more a system in an Arab country is closer to Israel, the more is closer to the US.

– The US aims to serve the Arab systems that are closer to Israel. These systems become supported, funded and a key ally to the US.

– When there is an Arab or Islamic system that does not give in to the US , it becomes isolated and subjected to conspiracies.

– The pre-revolution system in Iran was an American regime.

– The US categorizes you in the ‘Axis of evil’ if you were against Israel.

Addressing Israel he said

– The new Israeli Chief of Staff Gantz was a leader of the South Lebanon Army and one of the leaders of Israel’s defeat in the July 2006 war.

– I tell the Zionist leaders and generals to be careful wherever they are in the world because Imad Mughniyeh’s blood will not go to waste.

– He addressed Israeli leaders Ehud Barak, Gabi Ashkenazi, and Israeli new Chief of Staff Gantz: “I will tell the resistance fighters to be prepared for the day when war is imposed on Lebanon. One day I will also tell them to reoccupy Galilee

The Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah brought down PM Saad Hariri’s government on January 12 over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s imminent indictment which is widely expected to implicate Hezbollah members in the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri in 2005 .

Nagib Mikati, who was backed by Hezbollah and its March 8 allies including MP Walid Jumblatt and Mohammad Safadi, was appointed on January 25 by president Michel Suleiman as PM-designate to form and head the next cabinet , giving Hezbollah and its allies increased leverage in the country and provoking widespread protest.

On Monday U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton accused Hezbollah of hijacking Lebanon’s democracy.

The Lebanese “deserve to have their democracy respected and their voices heard, and not have one element of their society using the threat of force and the potential of violence to try to achieve political ends,” she said.

This was a possible reference to the alleged Hezbollah threats against MP Walid Jumblatt and his PSP parliament members that forced them to switch allegiance to Hezbollah’s PM candidate .