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Between December 23 and 24, 2023, two senior Hizbullah officials – Hashim Safi Al-Din, chairman of Lebanese Hizbullah's Executive Council, and Ibrahim Al-Mousawi, a Lebanese MP who belongs to Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance Party – spoke at different events in South Lebanon. Messages in the speeches included warnings from the two men such as that "the elimination of the resistance in Gaza means its elimination in the entire region." They also asserted that the presence of the resistance along the Lebanon-Israel border is "necessary and crucial" and declared that Hizbullah will not withdraw its forces beyond the Litani River and will continue to be "a supportive mountain for Gaza." The two men said that measured escalation against Israel is preferable to all-out war which is likely to lead to greater intervention of the U.S. in the region. Furthermore, they lauded "the unity of the fronts" and the coordination that they claim exists among the resistance factions in Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen.
The following are summaries of the main points of the speeches delivered by Safi Al-Din and Al-Mousawi as presented on Hizbullah's Al-'Ahed website:
On December 23, 2023, Hashim Safi Al-Din, delivered a speech at a memorial ceremony that was held at Brital village in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley in honor of a Hizbullah fighter who was killed "on the road to Jerusalem." Also present at the event was Ibrahim Al-Mousawi, Husayn Al-Nimr, the Hizbullah member responsible for the Beqaa Valley, and his deputy Hani Fakhr Al-Din, as well as other senior Hizbullah officials and clerics.
In his speech, Safi Al-Din noted that the presence of the resistance along the border with Israel is "necessary and crucial today to the south, from Shabaa to Naqourah." He added that since the establishment of "the entity," Israel, "Lebanon is either in conflict with the enemy or in surrender to it. When the border is the 'soft underbelly' or weak, the enemy spares no effort to exploit this, and we too have spared no effort until we achieved resistance that is capable and powerful." He said that the current battle is not a defense of the south but "it has a title: Gaza, and it also has a national title that is related to the future of Lebanon, the south, the border, the oil, and the gas."
According to Safi Al-Din, Israel wants "to eliminate the resistance in Palestine." In this context he claimed that in one of his speeches, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to create "a new Middle East," and thus implied that the elimination of "the resistance" in Gaza means its elimination in the entire region. Thus, asserted Safi Al-Din, "This matter affects us and is not detached from Lebanon and its problems."[1]
It is noteworthy that at other events held in South Lebanon during mid-December, Safi Al-Din expressed similar messages such as: the resistance is "a national necessity for every Lebanese;" Hizbullah is waging "a battle in defense of Gaza and the West Bank;" and Biden, "the false messiah" bears chief responsibility for the murder of civilians in Gaza.[2]
The above photograph appeared with the article on Hizbullah's Al-Ahed website (Source: Alahednews, December 23, 2023)
On December 24, 2023, Lebanese MP Ibrahim Al-Mousawi spoke at a political conference held in the village of Al-Nabi Shath in the Beqaa Valley that was titled, "The Axis During The [Al-Aqsa] Flood, A Time to Join Hands and Unite Fronts, Horizons, and Opportunities."[3] In his speech, Al-Mousawi related to declarations made by senior Israeli officials about the need to push Hizbullah's elite Radwan Force beyond the Litani River, and asserted that Hizbullah will not return to beyond the Litani. He also commented mockingly, "Who wants to push back the Radwan Force? The Israeli army?"
He said that the Israeli army had been beaten by Hamas and that its forces are "out of business." He also asserted Hizbullah's position that it will be "a supportive mountain for Gaza," despite the heavy pressure on the organization in the internal Lebanon arena.
The above photograph appeared with the article on Hizbullah's Al-Ahed website (Source: Alahednews, December 24, 2023)
Relating to Hizbullah's policy regarding exerting force on Israel, he stated that the measured escalation by the organization was more effective than all-out war, because all-out war "that is not at the right time or at the required level" is likely to create a problem and to lead to increased intervention in the region on the part of the U.S.
He maintained that today the resistance creates "great equations: the resistance in Gaza creates its own equations, as does the resistance in Lebanon, in Iraq, and in Yemen. Now is the time to integrate these equations." He further asserted, "Today we have true integration of unity of the fronts, true integration of the equations and full, active and conscious coordination among resistance factions."
Dr. Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, who also spoke at the political conference, claimed that the resistance "had achieved a clear victory in the moral and propaganda battle and established its narrative." He said that Hamas refused to agree to a ceasefire because it would not serve its perception regarding the way the war should end – "we set a condition which is: an immediate, total, and permanent end to the aggression. After that will come the rest of the issues, such as a deal for 'everyone in exchange for everyone' and additional subjects." He added that in his opinion "the battle is over and all that remain are the details. Great and tremendous achievements in the context of occupied land and liberation require [payment] of very heavy prices."
The above photograph appeared with the article on Hizbullah's Al-Ahed website (Source: Alahednews, December 24, 2023)
[1] Alahednews, December 23, 2023.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM Reports: Hizbullah Executive Council Head: The Resistance Is 'A National Necessity For Every Lebanese,' Israel Suffered A 'Decisive Failure' In Gaza And Cannot Prevail; Biden 'The False Messiah' Bears Chief Responsibility For The Murder Of Civilians In Gaza, December 20, 2023; and Hashim Safi Al-Din, Hizbullah Executive Council Head: We Won't Be America's Slaves; 'We Will Confront And Expel The American Project From The Region', December 13, 2023.
[3] Alahednews, December 24, 2023.
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