Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has hailed the new acts of heroism by Palestinians against Israel, saying the Lebanese resistance movement will continue to stand with the Palestinian people to achieve victory.
Nasrallah made the remarks in a televised speech on Monday during which he addressed the latest developments in Palestine and expressed Hezbollah's solidarity with the Palestinians in their struggle against the Israeli occupation.
"We must stand with all reverence and pride before the heroism of the men, youth, women, children and elderly of occupied Palestine,” Nasrallah said.
"What is happening in occupied Palestine has great implications regarding the conflict with the enemy, and the future of the Israeli entity."
Addressing the Israeli regime, Nasrallah said, "If you are betting on the despair and frustration of the Palestinian people, then you are delusional. If you think that the Arab betrayal will lead to the retreat of Palestinian youths, then you are delusional."
Nasrallah also said Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinians would make them more determined in their resistance against the regime’s occupation.
What is happening in and around occupied Palestine needs a “long pause, and more support and solidarity," Nasrallah said, expressing "absolute support” for the Palestinian people and their resistance.
“We are their partners in this battle and in making victory,” he added.
Palestinians have ramped up retaliatory attacks against Israeli forces in recent weeks, carrying out a series of operations that have killed at least 14 Israelis since March 22. Eight Palestinians have also been killed during the same period.
On Thursday evening, a Palestinian youth form the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, identified as Ra’ad Fathi Hazem, entered a pub on a crowded main street of Tel Aviv and began shooting, killing three Israelis and wounding more than a dozen others.
Last week, a Palestinian man identified as Diaa Hamarsheh killed five Israelis, including a policeman, before being shot dead in the ultra-orthodox town of Bnei Brak east of Tel Aviv. The operation came days after two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded four others in a shooting attack in the northern Israeli city of Hadera before being shot dead.
The occupying regime has since the start of Ramadan scaled up its crackdown on Palestinians who gather for Iftar, a meal served at the end of the fasting day during the holy month. Israel has also deployed a large number of its forces to disperse worshipers. The violence, repeated on a daily basis, has led to fierce clashes between Israelis and Palestinians across the occupied territories.
US efforts to delay Lebanon’s elections
Pointing to the electoral process in Lebanon and parliamentary elections scheduled for May 15, the Hezbollah chief said, “There is an atmosphere transmitted from the US embassy and other embassies that the current parliamentary majority will maintain its position."
“We have the right to accuse the US embassy of seeking to postpone the parliamentary elections," Nasrallah said. “There is a whisper in some embassies to postpone the parliamentary elections, in order to arrange the affairs of the other party."
Nasrallah said one of the objectives of talking about postponing the elections may be to reduce the citizens' enthusiasm to participate.
"We consider that we are waging an electoral battle, and we must participate with all enthusiasm in the polls."
Hezbollah happy with Yemen’s truce
Addressing a two-month truce brokered by the United Nations in Yemen, Nasrallah said, “We are happy with the armistice in Yemen and all our political discourse was to stop the aggression.”
“The Yemenis imposed their will on the international community through their steadfastness and fighting," the Hezbollah chief added, expressing hope that the truce would be an entry point for a political solution.
Nasrallah took a swipe at the countries waging a devastating war on Yemen.
"Who is sabotaging Arab relations, who takes a position on the aggression against Yemen, or who has launched a devastating military aggression seven years ago?" he asked.
Nasrallah said, "What we have been asking for from the beginning is to stop the war and massacres.”
“The only solution in Yemen is to negotiate and talk directly with Sana'a.”
Earlier this month, UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg announced a ceasefire, that came into effect on April 2 and could be renewed with consent of the parties.
Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war against Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and several Western states.
The objective was to bring back to power former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective government in Yemen.
The war has stopped well short of all of its goals, despite killing hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and turning the entire country into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.