 As Lebanon prepares for what is being hailed as its first free vote in years, the powerful Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah was flexing its military muscle and vowing to fight on against archenemy Israel. Hezbollah is projected to win possibly 12 seats in the elections kicking off in the capital Beirut today — the same number it has now; after forging alliances with anti-Syrian opposition forces in some electoral districts. The group's firebrand leader Hassan Nasrallah told tens of thousands of supporters in southern Lebanon on Wednesday that his militia had more than 12,000 rockets that put northern Israel within firing range. His declaration defied international calls for the disarming of Hezbollah in line with UN Resolution 1559, which paved the way for Syria's withdrawal of its forces from Lebanon after a 29-year military presence. "Our priority is to evacuate Israel from the Shebaa Farms and to fight against UN Resolution 1559," said Hezbollah parliamentary candidate Hassan Fadlallah. |