Hizbollah still has 20,000 rockets, Nasrallah tells 300,000 at rally
The Telegraph ^ | 9/23/06 | Rania Abouzeid and Damien McElroy
telegraph.co.uk
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah's leader, made his first public appearance since the war with Israel yesterday, and threatened to break Lebanon's political system.
More than 300,000 supporters filled a square in Beirut's southern suburbs to hear Mr Nasrallah claim that the group had survived intense Israeli bombardment and retained an arsenal of rockets.
"The resistance today — pay attention — has more than 20,000 rockets," he declared. "[It] has recovered all its organisational and military capabilities. It is stronger than it was before July 12 [the start of the conflict]."
The pro-Western prime minister, Faud Siniora, was not invited to the rally, even though it was billed as a celebration of national resistance.
There has been speculation that Mr Nasrallah — an obvious target for assassination by Israel — has been holed up in the Iranian embassy in Beirut. His only appearances since the war began have been in television statements produced by Hizbollah.
His aides promised a "landmark historic speech". It turned out to be a full frontal assault on the compromise-based political set-up that has governed Lebanon since the civil war. Mr Nasrallah said: "Let us create a strong, just and fair government able to protect the Lebanese."
The militant Shia group has led efforts to rebuild Lebanon, distributing one-off payments to householders from its Iranian paymasters.
The rally had been expected to coincide with the final withdrawal of Israeli troops from the south but Israel's army chief announced the pull-out would be extended for several days.
Israel and Hizbollah both claimed to have come out on top after a 34-day conflict in which nearly 1,200 Lebanese and 157 Israelis died. |
