Nasrallah: No Army Can Disarm Hezbollah
Published Friday September 22, 2006 by The Associated Press

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah defied the international community in his first major appearance since the war with Israel, telling hundreds of thousands of supporters at a "victory" rally Friday that no army could disarm his militia.
Nasrallah said his guerrillas have replenished their arsenal and have more than 20,000 rockets which they will never give up unless a stronger Lebanese government takes over.

The Iranian-backed leader's tough stance was aimed at demonstrating that Hezbollah was not weakened by U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese troops deploying across southern Lebanon with a mandate to rein in the Shiite guerrillas.

The gathering that sprawled over a swath of bombed-out south Beirut was a defiant show of Hezbollah strength and a challenge to the government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.

Police officials estimated 800,000 people - mostly Shiites but including some Christians - filled the 37-acre lot to hear Nasrallah, forming a sea of waving yellow Hezbollah banners, mixed with a smaller number of Lebanese flags.

In his first public appearance since Israel launched its offensive against Hezbollah on July 12, Nasrallah called for formation of a new government. He repeatedly attacked Saniora's administration, saying it was weak and unable to protect Lebanon from Israel.

"Tears don't protect anyone," the black-turbaned cleric said in a jab at Saniora, who wept several times in speeches during the Israeli assault as he pleaded for international support.

Nasrallah said his group would keep its arms until Lebanon has a stronger government. Giving up weapons now "under this government ... means leaving Lebanon exposed before Israel to kill and detain and bomb whomever they want, and clearly we will not accept that," he said.

Hezbollah's push for a larger presence in government could deepen tensions in a country already sharply divided over the war that killed hundreds of Lebanese.

The guerrillas' tough fight with Israel sent their support soaring among Shiites. But a large sector - particularly among Christians and Sunni Muslims - opposes Hezbollah and resent it for starting the fight by capturing two Israeli soldiers.

A stronger Hezbollah political role would also snub efforts by the United States and Israel to weaken the group and decrease the influence of its ally Syria.

Former President Amin Gemayel said parts of Nasrallah's speech were "dangerous."

"He is linking giving up Hezbollah's weapons to regime change in Lebanon and ... to drastic changes on the level of the Lebanese government," Gemayel said. "This is very surprising and dangerous, and leads us to ask, what kind of government does (Nasrallah) want for what kind of Lebanon?"

Faris Soueid, a Christian politician close to Saniora, insisted the government would not bend to Hezbollah. "I believe it will not scare the government of Fuad Saniora," he said on Al-Arabiya television. "It will not fall, not in the street and not because of political speeches."

Despite his tough rhetoric, Nasrallah offered an olive branch, saying he did not want to bring down the government - only to hold discussions on including more factions.

Saniora has repeatedly rejected a new government. A terse statement from his office said Nasrallah's focus "on dialogue in his speech is a good and constructive thing and opens future horizons."

Although Nasrallah said in an interview that he would not have authorized the Israeli soldiers' capture if he had known it would trigger such a response, the Hezbollah leader proclaimed that his forces now are not weaker.

"No army in the world will be able to make us drop the weapons from our hands," Nasrallah told the crowd, which cheered and waved hundreds of Hezbollah flags.

He boasted that his fighters would not be affected by the U.N. and Lebanese troops monitoring the borders and airport and patrolling the coast with warships to prevent Hezbollah from rearming.

"I say to all those who want to close the seas, skies and the deserts and the border and the enemy, the resistance today possesses more - I underline that - more than 20,000 rockets," Nasrallah said.

"The resistance ... has regained all its military, organizational and weapons capabilities. The resistance today is stronger than it was on the eve of July 12," he said.

The 20,000 figure was even higher than the number of rockets Hezbollah claimed to have before the fighting - between 10,000 and 12,000 - and Nasrallah suggested he had hidden the true size of the arsenal. The guerrillas fired nearly 4,000 rockets into Israel during the fighting.

Israel lashed back after the speech, saying Nasrallah was issuing a challenge to the Lebanese government and the international community.

"The international community can't afford to have this Iranian-funded extremist spit in the face of the organized community of nations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said in Jerusalem.

Of Nasrallah's claim to 20,000 rockets, Regev said that under the cease-fire, Hezbollah "shouldn't have any rockets."

The U.N.-brokered cease-fire that ended the war Aug. 14 calls for Hezbollah to eventually disarm. U.N. peacekeepers and Lebanese troops say they won't hunt out and confiscate hidden Hezbollah arsenals. But they do intend to take weapons they encounter and stop new ones from coming in.

Hezbollah has been demanding formation of a national unity government that would presumably add more Hezbollah members and bring in its allies, including a Christian faction led by Michel Aoun.

That would relieve pressure on Hezbollah to surrender its weapons and likely lead to an administration friendlier to Syria.

Israel threatened to assassinate Nasrallah during the offensive. The Hezbollah leader went into hiding during the month of fighting, though he issued videotaped speeches and gave interviews to Lebanese television.

The rally filled a vast lot in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold where entire blocks were leveled by Israel during the war.

"We are with him (Nasrallah). I am here to say no to disarming Hezbollah," said a 42-year-old Shiite, Mira Ali, waving a Hezbollah flag.

"We came to participate in the victory for all of Lebanon. We came to show we are the majority," said Roy Abi Khalil, a 21-year-old Aoun supporter.