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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Hizbullah vows 'no operations abroad' |
| 2009-03-31 |
| Hizbullah vowed on Monday that it would deter any possible Israeli aggression but would not carry out any military operation outside the country. "We will not carry out any operation outside our Lebanese territories, but we will not accept after today that the Israeli enemy stages any assault against our land," head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Mohammad Raad said at a funeral in the southern town Sujod. Hizbullah abducted two Israeli troops in July 2006 from the Israeli side of the border, prompting Israel to launch a devastating 34-day war on Lebanon. But Raad stressed that "Israel will pay the price for any possible attack on Lebanon, and will receive the proper response." As for the Western attempts to open dialogue with Hizbullah, Raad said "Hizbullah welcomes this gesture," but "it is a mistake if we assume the United States will abandon Israel for the sake of the Arabs." "The United States' interest is with Israel, and the US foreign policy will not change," he said. Britain announced earlier in March that it is willing to open dialogue with the political wing of Hizbullah, while the United States reaffirmed that it still considers the Lebanese party a terrorist organization. Raad also commented on the parliamentary elections in June, criticizing the attempts of the March 14 Forces to marginalize a large segment of the Lebanese society. |
| Posted by:Fred |