Zechariah 9:1-6 KJV The burden of the word of the
Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the
rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes
of Israel, shall be toward the Lord.
4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will
smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured
with fire. 5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also
shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her
expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish
from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 6 And a
bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the
pride of the Philistines.
"We call on [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu
and the new chief of staff to not make mistakes in their
assessments. They'll regret it,” said Hassan Nasrallah,
the secretary general of the Lebanese political and
paramilitary party Hezbollah.
Speaking Saturday night for the first time since
the beginning of November, Nasrallah said, “The price
of aggression will be greater than they estimate. …
Any Israeli aggression, whether it is war or the
assassination of Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon or
Syria, we will respond to it. Any attack or aggression
is, in our view, a declaration of war.”
In an interview with the Lebanese Al-Mayadeen
station, Nasrallah said that the tunnels in the north,
which Israel targeted during its recent Operation
Northern Shield, had existed for years and Israeli
intelligence had not succeeded in uncovering them.
Nasrallah denied that he had not spoken up publicly
for so long due to his poor health.
“All that is published are lies, which are
disconnected from reality,” Nasrallah said. “My heart,
my head and my body are in good shape."
Nasrallah said that he chooses to speak “when
there's something to talk about.”
He said that he could have spoken up in the first
few days of Operation Northern Shield, but that he
left the propaganda campaign for Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu and then chief of staff Gadi
Eizenkot.
“I did not want to help them with their campaign,”
Nasrallah said.
Nasrallah noted that “even though they announced
that Operation Northern Shield had ended, they
continued until yesterday to search for tunnels, and
Eizenkot took credit for an operation that has not yet
ended.”
He said he did not want to admit that Hezbollah dug
the tunnels.
“Israel claims that Hezbollah dug them, and I do
say there are tunnels in southern Lebanon, and they
were exposed, but they were dug before the Lebanon
War,” Nasrallah claimed. “The second thing is that it
took Israelis a long time to expose them.”
He said Israeli intelligence failed for 14 years to
expose these tunnels.
“One of the tunnels discovered recently is 13 or 14
years old,” he said, “and was located entirely in
Israeli territory, meaning all of Israel’s technology
and capabilities failed to detect this tunnel.
“In confirm that some of these tunnels are older
than United National Security Council Resolution
1701,” he continued, noting that he would not confirm
or deny whether or not all of the tunnels in northern
Israel had been discovered.
Nasrallah also referenced former defense minister
Ehud Barak: "While he was defense minister, he boasted
to the soldiers that they should prepare for the day
Israel would invade Lebanon.
“Bogie Ya’alon [former defense minister Moshe
Ya’alon] said during Operation Northern Shield that
the IDF knew about tunnels two years ago, but wanted
to mislead the enemy. My question to the settlers is
how do they know that Netanyahu and their other
leaders are correct when they say that all the tunnels
have been destroyed?”
Nasrallah excused Netanyahu for his ignorance -
“Netanyahu is not a general” - but said Eizenkot
should have been able to think militarily.
“Is it logical that Hezbollah would enter the
Galilee with thousands of fighters through four
tunnels?” Nasrallah said mockingly. “I do not know
whether we will attack the Galilee by sea, air, land
or tunnels.”
He continued, “All of Netanyahu's goals failed, and
he also helped us in the realm of psychological
warfare. Netanyahu's only achievement was to expose
four tunnels. Eizenkot's only achievement is an
illusion.”
He continued, “I admit the enemy’s generals are
smart, but sometimes their personal interests overcome
their intelligence.”
Nasrallah said Hezbollah is taking all necessary
measures to protect Lebanon in the face of threats by
Israel. He said that the terrorist organization has
had the ability to conquer the Galilee for
years.
“After our experience in Syria, entering the
Galilee will be easier,” he said. “Even the fences
Israel has set up - we have a solution for them.”
He said it is in the organization’s war plan to
invade the Galilee but when and how will depend on
Israel.
“If Israel attacks Lebanon, they will regret it,”
he said. “Our response will be one they never
expected.”
Nasrallah strongly attacked Netanyahu, claiming his
impending indictment for corruption is leading the PM
to falsely present himself as a hero. He accused
Netanyahu of using the success of Operation Northern
Shield to improve his situation in the courts.
“He is ready to sacrifice anything to remain prime
minister and out of prison," Nasrallah said. “We warn
Israelis that this man, Netanyahu, could carry out
many miscalculations between now and Election Day in
order to save himself.”
The interviewer asked why Nasrallah thinks
Netanyahu chose to openly admit Israel’s recent
attacks on Syria. The secretary general said, “Israel
has failed intelligence in Syria. We must expect such
an ill-advised move on the part of Netanyahu on the
eve of the elections.”
Nasrallah added that he did not forsee Israel
making a mistake with regards to Lebanon, but more
likely with Syria or Gaza. He said a miscalculation in
Gaza could push the people of Gaza too far.
“Gaza will not tolerate continued aggression,” he
said.
“You saw what happened when one rocket from Gaza
hit Ashkelon,” he continued. “Imagine if rockets
started falling on Tel Aviv. In a future war, all of
occupied Palestine will be struck by our rockets.”