Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah: If We Make A "Clear And Serious Threat", No International Firm Will Drill In Israel's Karish Gas Field; If Israel Prevents Lebanon's Offshore Drilling, We Will Answer In Kind

Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech that was uploaded to the Fasl Al-Khitab YouTube channel on May 9, 2022 that nobody should mistakenly claim that Israel is preventing Lebanon from accessing the oil and gas fields near its southern shore because the Lebanese resistance would not allow this to happen. He also said that the U.S. is mediating negotiations between Israel and Lebanon because it is aware that the resistance will "exact a price" from its enemies if they try to prevent it from accessing its resources.

Hassan Nasrallah: "As I said before, I do not want to intervene in the demarcation of the [Israel-Lebanon] maritime boundaries. Lebanon marked offshore blocks, where [the Lebanese] believe that this is our water. These blocks were offered for gas and oil drilling and extraction contracts here in the south. Let me reassure you that there are international firms who would accept it. Let no one claim that Israel would prevent us from doing this.

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"I say to the Lebanese state and to the Lebanese people that you have courageous, powerful, and capable resistance force which can say to the enemy — that is working day and night to drill and extract oil and gas from the disputed areas — that if you prevent Lebanon from doing this, we will respond in kind.

"Yes, we are capable of preventing them from doing this. We have the necessary courage, power, and capability. I can guarantee you that no international firm would dare come to the Karish gas field or to anywhere else in the disputed area if Hizbullah issues a clear and serious threat in this matter.

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"The Americans are coming and going to negotiate with Lebanon. Are they doing this because of our pretty faces? No. Because Lebanon has rights? No. Because they respect Lebanon? No. They do this because they know that in Lebanon there is a resistance force that will exact a price from the enemy if it prevents Lebanon from benefitting from its rights and resources. They do this because they are afraid of our reaction. This is why they come, negotiate, exert pressure, in an attempt to accomplish Israel's interests by means of negotiations.

"I am saying to the Lebanese state: If you want to continue negotiating, go ahead, but not in Naqoura, and not with [Amos] Hochstein, Frankenstein, or any other Stein coming to Lebanon.

"The path of negotiations, and especially via the conspiring, collaborating, and dishonest American broker, who supports Israel, will not lead us to any results."