Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised Friday evening that his opposition alliance would intensify its campaign to bring down the government, pledging to mount an "effective" action in the coming days. In an interview with his group's Al-Manar television, Nasrallah said Hezbollah's consultations with its allies were drawing to a close and they would release a statement shortly that spelled out the steps to be taken. "I believe this action will be effective, very important and very big," he said. He would not divulge the plan but urged all Lebanese to support it. Hezbollah and its allies have staged street protests and sit-ins, camping outside the prime minister's office, since Dec. 1 in a bid to topple the government of Fuad Saniora. Newspapers have said if Hezbollah steps up the campaign, it is likely to employ tactics such as a general strike and the blocking of major roads. When asked if the opposition would close roads, Beirut port or airport, Nasrallah declined to respond. He said the campaign would remain non-violent, as has generally been the case. One person was shot dead in a street clash, but the protests have been largely peaceful.
Nasrallah said Hezbollah would never use weapons in its political struggle in Lebanon, repeating that the group's arms were for fighting Israel.
Earlier Friday Nasrallah said that the resignation of Israel's military chief proved that his group had won the July-August war with Israel, and forecast that the country's defense and prime ministers would also have to resign. "It is natural and logical that (Israeli Defense Minister Amir) Peretz should fall. I expect him to resign. He will be the next victim," Nasrallah said in an interview on Hizbullah's Al-Manar television station.
He predicted that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would also pay the price of Israel's failure to crush Hizbullah and secure the release of its soldiers in the 34-day war. "In the end, (Olmert) will either resign or be overthrown," Nasrallah said.
Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz resigned Wednesday, saying he had to take responsibility. Internal inquiries by the Israeli IDF found widespread problems in the forces' performance during the conflict. His resignation generated calls for Olmert and Peretz to step down as well as the three leaders have been widely blamed for the war's shortcomings.
Nasrallah said that Halutz's resignation showed that Hizbullah achieved a "historic, strategic victory" over the Israelis. "What is happening now confirms that," Nasrallah said, adding that when he heard of the resignation, "I felt happiness." He said the deterrent power of the Israeli armed forces had "collapsed."
"There is a crisis of confidence in the Israeli army, unprecedented since its inception," he said. The war began on July 12 after a Hizbullah cross-border raid in which two IDF soldiers were kidnapped. Israel launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon and a massive aerial bombardment that destroyed huge chunks of Lebanon's infrastructure and hundreds of homes. Hizbullah fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel. More than 1,000 people were killed in Lebanon and about 160 Israelis.
The conflict ended Aug. 14 with a UN-brokered cease-fire under which some 15,000 Lebanese troops and about 12,000 U.N. peacekeepers have taken control of southern Lebanon, where Hizbullah used to be the dominant military force.
