Hizbullah chief, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, speaking in an interview published Tuesday by the Lebanese A-Safir daily, said his group would not relinquish its missile and rocket arsenal. Nasrallah added that Hizbullah would use the weapons only if Lebanon was attacked again on a large scale by Israel.
"We have just finished the war and are in no rush to conduct operations in the (Shebba) Farms, although we withhold the right to do so. No one can send Israel reassuring messages on this matter for free," he said.
According to Nasrallah, the once legendary Israeli army "became an example of failure and embarrassment in this war. "It used everything it had, except for nuclear weapons, but failed to reach the goals it set - to destroy Hizbullah and its rocket infrastructure, and to release the two soldiers who were captured. Olmert's main success in this long and wide-ranging war was to force me into a bomb shelter," Nasrallah told the newspaper.
Regarding a future confrontation with Israel, Nasrallah said that Israel would need to consider "a thousand considerations" beforehand.
The Hizbullah leader also hailed Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. He also stated that there was room to improve Hizbullah's relations with Arab nations, especially with Saudi Arabia. Additionally, he urged all political parties in Lebanon to return and discuss a new defense strategy.
