Nasrallah: Arab regimes have never done anything for the Palestinians

Hezbollah chief slams Gulf Arab countries for decision to designate the group a terrorist organization.

By MAAYAN GROISMAN
Updated: MARCH 7, 2016 01:27
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah appears on Al-Manar television (photo credit: AFP PHOTO)
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah appears on Al-Manar television
(photo credit: AFP PHOTO)
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah vehemently attacked Arab regimes for their decision to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, claiming that “the Lebanese resistance is the only one that regains Arab dignity and fights for the Palestinian people.”
Last week, the Gulf Cooperation Council voted to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization amid the Lebanese Shi’ite group’s involvement in various regional conflicts alongside Iran and the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
In a speech he delivered Sunday afternoon to commemorate the martyrdom of a senior Hezbollah commander, Ali Fayyad, Nasrallah mocked the contribution of Arab regimes to the struggle against Israel saying, “If we had waited for the Arabs and their armies, Israel would still be in our lands [South Lebanon].”
Responding to the GCC’s decision to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, Nasrallah delivered a belligerent message to Arab states, saying, “We do not need your weapons; leave us alone.”
“Arab regimes led by Saudi Arabia side with Israel against our struggle. They do so because the defense of Israel is the guarantee to their survival,” Hezbollah’s chief further stated.
Hezbollah’s chief criticized the “Arab indifference” toward Israel’s alleged assassination of Omar al-Nayef, a former Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist who died under mysterious circumstances in Sofia, Bulgaria, on February 26.
Nasrallah also provided details about the fighting in Syria, claiming that Hezbollah does not receive orders from Iran instructing it how to operate in the country.
In addition, Nasrallah heavily criticized Saudi Arabia’s interference in regional wars in the Arab world. He argued that the kingdom has failed in achieving its goal of rebel victory in Yemen and that it prevents a political solution in that country. In an attempt to paint Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria as a defense of Lebanon’s national security and not as a part of a sectarian conflict, Nasrallah claimed that facing Saudi Arabia is in Lebanon’s national interests.
Nasrallah finished his speech by announcing that even though it has suffered great losses in the Syrian front, Hezbollah will remain in the battlefield and its fighters will continue sacrificing themselves.