“In this first address that I give in these days following Operation True Promise, I would like to say a few words — a word to the Lebanese people, a word to the resistance fighters, a word to the Zionists, and a word to the Arab rulers. I will not offer words to the international community because I have never for one day believed that there is any such thing as an international community, just as many in our nation feel.”The address of the General Secretary of Hizballah, His Excellency Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah, to the Nation, the Lebanese people, the resistance fighters, the Zionists, and the Arab leaders.

Tadamon! Montreal posts an address from the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, delivered on Friday, July 14th, during the first week of the Israeli assault on Lebanon. This address focuses on some important social, cultural & political motivations for the military actions of Hezbollah, and thus provides some important context to the war…. Tadamon! Montreal posts this address from Hassan Nasrallah in light of the misrepresentation of Hezbollah in the majority of major media outlets in North America.

Peace be upon you and the mercy of God and His blessings!

To begin with, in this first address that I make to you since Operation True Promise [in which Hizballah captured two Zionist soldiers] and the events that followed it, I would like, to begin with, to offer my appreciation and condolences to the families of the martyrs, those who gave the dearest of their loved ones during these hard and difficult days, and for all they have given in the noblest confrontation and battle that the modern age has known or rather that all history has known.

I want to salute the wounded, and beseech God — be He glorified and exalted — to sustain them, heal them and bring them health. I also wish to salute our steadfast people in all the cities, towns and villages who are standing firm and immoveable, rooted in their land as they are rooted in their faith. I also salute my brothers the Mujahideen, the steadfast resistance fighters, enduring hardship at their posts and in all our ranks, ever ready for sacrifice in the path of what they believe. They always have and always will regard their own safety lightly and hold their heads high with pride.

In this first address that I give in these days following Operation True Promise, I would like to say a few words — a word to the Lebanese people, a word to the resistance fighters, a word to the Zionists, and a word to the Arab rulers. I will not offer words to the international community because I have never for one day believed that there is any such thing as an international community, just as many in our nation feel.

First, I say to the Lebanese people: dear people — who embraced the resistance, by whom the resistance was victorious, and for whom the resistance won its victory on 25 May 2000 — this people who were the makers of the first victory in the history of the Arab struggle with the Israeli enemy, despite the basic inequality in forces, and in spite of the fact that the majority of our Arab brothers and the majority of our Muslim brothers abandoned us and despite the silence of the whole world, this Lebanese people made the miracle of the victory that stunned the world and humiliated the Zionists. Those Zionists look upon this people in a special, unique way because they accomplished in the history of the struggle with them a special and unique accomplishment.

The battle today is no longer a battle over prisoners or the exchange of prisoners. It might be said that the Zionist enemy is responding any time there is any operation where men are captured anywhere in any part of the world, by any army or any state that has borders and regulations. What is taking place today is not a response to a capture of their soldiers; it is a squaring of accounts with the people, resistance, state, army, political forces, regions, villages, and families that inflicted that historic defeat on that aggressive usurper entity that has never accepted its defeat.

Today, therefore, this is a total war that Zionism is waging to clear its whole account with Lebanon, the Lebanese people, the Lebanese state, the Lebanese army, and the Lebanese resistance, in revenge and reprisal for the victory they won on 25 May 2000.

Dear steadfast, mujahid, and noble people, I know that the overwhelming majority of this people, in their minds, hearts, wills, culture, thoughts, love, passion, and sacrifice are a people of nobility, dignity, honor, distinction, and pride, not a people of servility, subservience, submissiveness, and surrender. I say to you that in this battle we are faced with two choices — not we, as in Hizballah, or as in the resistance, the Hizballah resistance — but Lebanon as a state, a people, an army, a resistance, and a political power — we are faced with two choices: either to submit today to the conditions that the Zionist enemy wants to dictate to us all, using the pressure, support, and backing it has from America, from around the world, and, I’m sorry to say, from Arabs.

Either we submit completely to its conditions, which means taking Lebanon into an Israeli age under Israeli domination — in total frankness this is the extent of the matter — or we stand steadfast. That is the other choice: that we persevere, that we persevere and confront. I, relying on God the Exalted, and on my faith in Him and the mujahideen and in you, knowing this people and this enemy, just as I always used to promise you victory, now I promise you victory once again.

During the Grapes of Wrath in 1996, or Operation Settling of Accounts in 1993, in the beginning they had the upper hand and our situation was much worse. But today, the situation is different. Believe me, and I mean this, the situation now is different. All that we need is to persevere, stand steadfast, and confront them united, and I know and I will bet that the majority of our people are a people of steadfastness, a mujahid [struggling] people who can sacrifice, who have no need for pep talks. What I’m saying now is only by way of completing the idea, and affirming the choice, and clarifying what this means.

Now, as for my words for the resistance fighters, for my dear and beloved brothers: upon them rest the hopes of every Lebanese, every Palestinian, every Arab, every Muslim, every free and decent person in this world, every oppressed, tortured victim of injustice, every lover of steadfastness, courage, dignity, values, and nobility — the characteristics they embody by their presence on the field of battle and in their fight with this enemy, the fight of valiant heroes. I say to them: today, after God the Highest, you are the hope of our Nation. You are the symbol of our nobility. Our honor is in your hands.

This honor is yours and by means of you, our honor is preserved. After God the Exalted, it was you who were responsible for the victory of 2000. Today it is you, before all others, who are responsible for preserving the victory, for achieving liberation, standing steadfast, and with honor. This places demands on you that you, in practice, have proved until now and during these days that you are entirely worthy of, as you are worthy of our esteem. Those who put their trust in you, after God, their charge is great, the reward will be grand, and the mighty victory — a clear triumph — is near.

To the Zionists, to the people of the Zionist entity at this hour I say to them: you will soon discover how foolish and stupid are your new rulers, your new leaders. They do not know how to assess reality. They have no experience in this area. You Zionists say in opinion polls that you believe me more than you believe your officials. So now I call on you to listen well and believe me. Today we have persevered despite the attack that took place last night in the southern suburbs. However the attacks multiply in every village, neighborhood, street, and home in Lebanon, there is no difference between the south Beirut suburbs, the City of Beirut, or any home in south Lebanon, in the Beqaa, or the north, or Mount Lebanon, or any corner of Lebanon.

The equation has now changed. I will not say today that if you strike Beirut, we will strike Haifa. I will not tell you that if you hit the south Beirut suburbs, we will hit Haifa. You wanted to get rid of that equation, so now we and you have got rid of it in actuality. You wanted open warfare, and we are going into open warfare. We are ready for it, a war on every level. To Haifa, and, believe me, to beyond Haifa, and to beyond beyond Haifa. Not only we will be paying a price. Not only our houses will be destroyed. Not only our children will be killed. Not only our people will be displaced. Those days are past. That was how it was before 1982, and before the year 2000.

Those times have come to an end. I promise you those times have passed. Therefore you must also bear the responsibility for what your government has done, for what that government has undertaken. From now on, you wanted open warfare, so it will be open warfare. You wanted it. Your government wanted to change the rules of the game, so let the rules then be changed. You don’t know today whom you’re fighting. You are fighting the children of Muhammad, of Ali, of al-Hasan, of al-Husayn, of the Prophet’s family, the Prophet’s Companions.

You are fighting a people who have faith such as no one else on the face of the earth possesses. And you have chosen open warfare with a people who take pride in their history, their civilization, and their culture, and who also possess material power, ability, expertise, knowledge, calm, imagination, determination, steadfastness, and courage. In the coming days it will be between us and you, God willing.

As to the Arab rulers, I don’t want to ask you about your history. I just want to say a few words. We are adventurers. We in Hizballah are adventurers, yes. But we have been adventurers since 1982. And we have brought to our country only victory, freedom, liberation, dignity, honor, and pride. This is our history. This is our experience. This is our adventure.

In the year 1982 you said and the world said that we were crazy. But we proved that we were the rational ones, so who then was crazy? This is something else and I don’t want to get into an argument with anyone. So I tell them simply: go bet on your reason and we will bet on our adventure, with God as our Supporter and Benefactor. We have never for one day counted on you. We have trusted in God, our people, our hearts, our hands, and our children. Today we do the same, and God willing, victory will follow.

The surprises that I promised you will begin starting now. Now, out at sea off the coast of Beirut an Israeli military vessel that attacked our infrastructure, that struck the homes of our people, our civilians; you can see it burning. It will sink and with it dozens of Zionist Israeli troops. This is the beginning. There will be a lot more said before the end.

Peace be upon you, and the mercy of God!

Translated by Eric Mueller. Arabic original at:
www.nna-leb.gov.lb/phpfolder/loadpage.php?page=JOU214.html